Printing on Pre-Tagged Media

ABSTRACT

A method performed in a telecommunication device is disclosed. Document information is printed onto a plurality of print areas with a printer of the telecommunication device. Each of the print areas is encoded with identity data which differentiates the print areas from each other. The identity data is sensed with a sensor incorporated in a media feed path of the printer. The identity data and the document information are then transmitted to a computer system with a transmitter of the telecommunication device where the document information printed on respective print areas is associated with the identity data of the respective print areas.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/124,201 filed on May 9, 2005, which iscontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/693,514 filed onOct. 20, 2000, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,369,265, the entire contentsof which are now incorporated by reference.

CROSS REFERENCES

The following patents or patent applications filed by the applicant orassignee of the present invention are hereby incorporated bycross-reference.

6,405,055 6,628,430 7,136,186 7,286,260 7,145,689 7,130,075 7,081,9747,177,055 7,209,257 7,161,715 7,154,632 7,158,258 7,148,993 7,075,6847,241,005 7,108,437 6,915,140 6,999,206 7,136,198 7,092,130 6,750,9016,476,863 6,788,336 7,170,652 6,967,750 6,995,876 7,099,051 7,453,5867,193,734 7,095,533 6,914,686 7,161,709 7,099,033 7,364,256 7,258,4177,293,853 7,328,968 7,270,395 7,461,916 7,510,264 7,334,864 7,255,4197,284,819 7,229,148 7,258,416 7,273,263 7,270,393 6,984,017 7,347,5267,357,477 7,465,015 7,364,255 7,357,476 11/003,614 7,284,820 7,341,3287,246,875 7,322,669 10/815,621 7,243,835 10/815,630 10/815,63710/815,638 7,251,050 10/815,642 7,097,094 7,137,549 10/815,618 7,156,29210/815,635 7,357,323 7,654,454 7,137,566 7,131,596 7,128,265 7,197,3747,175,089 10/815,617 7,537,160 7,178,719 7,506,808 7,207,483 7,296,7377,270,266 10/815,614 7,605,940 7,128,270 11/041,650 11/041,651 7,506,1687,441,712 7,663,789 11/041,609 11/041,626 7,537,157 11/041,624 7,395,9637,457,961 11/041,580 7,467,300 7,467,299 7,565,542 7,457,007 7,150,3987,159,777 7,450,273 7,188,769 7,097,106 7,070,110 7,243,849 6,623,1016,406,129 6,505,916 6,457,809 6,550,895 6,457,812 7,152,962 6,428,1336,231,148 6,293,658 6,614,560 6,238,033 6,312,070 6,238,111 6,378,9706,196,739 6,270,182 6,152,619 7,006,143 6,876,394 6,738,096 6,970,1866,287,028 6,412,993 11/033,145 7,204,941 7,282,164 7,465,342 7,278,7277,417,141 7,452,989 7,367,665 7,138,391 7,153,956 7,423,145 7,456,2777,550,585 7,122,076 7,148,345 7,416,280 11/124,158 11/124,196 11/124,19911/124,162 11/124,202 11/124,197 11/124,198 7,284,921 11/124,1517,407,257 7,470,019 7,645,022 7,392,950 11/124,149 7,360,880 7,517,0467,236,271 11/124,174 11/124,194 11/124,164 7,465,047 7,607,77411/124,166 11/124,150 11/124,172 11/124,165 7,566,182 11/124,18511/124,184 11/124,182 11/124,171 11/124,181 11/124,161 7,595,90411/124,191 11/124,159 7,370,932 7,404,616 11/124,187 11/124,18911/124,190 7,500,268 7,558,962 7,447,908 11/124,178 7,661,813 7,456,9947,431,449 7,466,444 11/124,179 11/124,169 7,156,508 7,159,972 7,083,2717,165,834 7,080,894 7,201,469 7,090,336 7,156,489 7,413,283 7,438,3857,083,257 7,258,422 7,255,423 7,219,980 7,591,533 7,416,274 7,367,6497,118,192 7,618,121 7,322,672 7,077,505 7,198,354 7,077,504 7,614,7247,198,355 7,401,894 7,322,676 7,152,959 7,213,906 7,178,901 7,222,9387,108,353 7,104,629 7,246,886 7,128,400 7,108,355 6,991,322 7,287,8367,118,197 7,575,298 7,364,269 7,077,493 6,962,402 10/728,803 7,147,3087,524,034 7,118,198 7,168,790 7,172,270 7,229,155 6,830,318 7,195,3427,175,261 7,465,035 7,108,356 7,118,202 7,510,269 7,134,744 7,510,2707,134,743 7,182,439 7,210,768 7,465,036 7,134,745 7,156,484 7,118,2017,111,926 7,431,433 7,018,021 7,401,901 7,468,139 10/944,043 7,156,2897,178,718 7,225,979 7,540,429 7,584,402 11/084,806 09/575,197 7,079,7126,825,945 7,330,974 6,813,039 7,190,474 6,987,506 6,824,044 7,038,7976,980,318 6,816,274 7,102,772 7,350,236 6,681,045 6,678,499 6,679,4206,963,845 6,976,220 6,728,000 7,110,126 7,173,722 6,976,035 6,813,5586,766,942 6,965,454 6,995,859 7,088,459 6,720,985 7,286,113 6,922,7796,978,019 6,847,883 7,131,058 7,295,839 7,406,445 7,533,031 6,959,2986,973,450 7,150,404 6,965,882 7,233,924 09/575,181 7,593,899 7,175,0797,162,259 6,718,061 7,464,880 7,012,710 6,825,956 7,451,115 7,222,0987,590,561 7,263,508 7,031,010 6,972,864 6,862,105 7,009,738 6,989,9116,982,807 7,518,756 6,829,387 6,714,678 6,644,545 6,609,653 6,651,87910/291,555 7,293,240 7,467,185 7,415,668 7,044,363 7,004,390 6,867,8807,034,953 6,987,581 7,216,224 7,506,153 7,162,269 7,162,222 7,290,2107,293,233 7,293,234 6,850,931 6,865,570 6,847,961 10/685,583 7,162,44210/685,584 7,159,784 7,557,944 7,404,144 6,889,896 10/831,232 7,174,0566,996,274 7,162,088 7,388,985 7,417,759 7,362,463 7,259,884 7,167,2707,388,685 6,986,459 10/954,170 7,181,448 7,590,622 7,657,510 7,324,9897,231,293 7,174,329 7,369,261 7,295,922 7,200,591 11/020,106 11/020,26011/020,321 11/020,319 7,466,436 7,347,357 11/051,032 7,382,482 7,602,5157,446,893 11/082,940 11/082,815 7,389,423 7,401,227 6,991,153 6,991,1547,068,382 7,007,851 6,957,921 6,457,883 7,044,381 7,094,910 7,091,3447,122,685 7,038,066 7,099,019 7,062,651 6,789,194 6,789,191 7,529,9367,278,018 7,360,089 7,526,647 7,467,416 6,644,642 6,502,614 6,622,9996,669,385 6,827,116 7,011,128 7,416,009 6,549,935 6,987,573 6,727,9966,591,884 6,439,706 6,760,119 7,295,332 7,064,851 6,826,547 6,290,3496,428,155 6,785,016 6,831,682 6,741,871 6,927,871 6,980,306 6,965,4396,840,606 7,036,918 6,977,746 6,970,264 7,068,389 7,093,991 7,190,4917,511,847 7,663,780 10/962,412 7,177,054 7,364,282 10/965,733 10/965,93310/974,742 7,468,809 7,180,609 7,538,793 7,466,438 6,982,798 6,870,9666,822,639 6,474,888 6,627,870 6,724,374 6,788,982 7,263,270 6,788,2936,946,672 6,737,591 7,091,960 7,369,265 6,792,165 7,105,753 6,795,5936,980,704 6,768,821 7,132,612 7,041,916 6,797,895 7,015,901 7,289,8827,148,644 10/778,056 10/778,058 10/778,060 7,515,186 7,567,27910/778,062 10/778,061 10/778,057 7,096,199 7,286,887 7,400,937 7,474,9307,324,859 7,218,978 7,245,294 7,277,085 7,187,370 7,609,410 7,660,49010/919,379 7,019,319 7,593,604 7,660,489 7,043,096 7,148,499 7,055,7397,233,320 6,830,196 6,832,717 7,182,247 7,120,853 7,082,562 6,843,42010/291,718 6,789,731 7,057,608 6,766,944 6,766,945 7,289,103 7,412,6517,299,969 7,108,192 7,111,791 7,077,333 6,983,878 7,564,605 7,134,5987,431,219 6,929,186 6,994,264 7,017,826 7,014,123 7,134,601 7,150,3967,469,830 7,017,823 7,025,276 7,284,701 7,080,780 7,376,884 10/492,1697,469,062 7,359,551 7,444,021 7,308,148 7,630,962 7,630,554 10/510,3917,660,466 7,526,128 6,957,768 7,456,820 7,170,499 7,106,888 7,123,2396,982,701 6,982,703 7,227,527 6,786,397 6,947,027 6,975,299 7,139,4317,048,178 7,118,025 6,839,053 7,015,900 7,010,147 7,133,557 6,914,5937,437,671 6,938,826 7,278,566 7,123,245 6,992,662 7,190,346 7,417,6297,468,724 7,382,354 11/075,917 7,221,781 11/102,843 10/727,18110/727,162 7,377,608 7,399,043 7,121,639 7,165,824 7,152,942 10/727,1577,181,572 7,096,137 7,302,592 7,278,034 7,188,282 7,592,829 10/727,18010/727,179 10/727,192 10/727,274 10/727,164 7,523,111 7,573,3017,660,998 10/754,536 10/754,938 10/727,160 6,795,215 7,070,098 7,154,6386,805,419 6,859,289 6,977,751 6,398,332 6,394,573 6,622,923 6,747,7606,921,144 10/884,881 7,092,112 7,192,106 7,374,266 7,427,117 7,448,7077,281,330 10/854,503 7,328,956 10/854,509 7,188,928 7,093,989 7,377,6097,600,843 10/854,498 10/854,511 7,390,071 10/854,525 10/854,5267,549,715 7,252,353 7,607,757 7,267,417 10/854,505 7,517,036 7,275,8057,314,261 7,281,777 7,290,852 7,484,831 10/854,523 10/854,527 7,549,71810/854,520 7,631,190 7,557,941 10/854,499 10/854,501 7,266,661 7,243,19310/854,518 10/934,628 7,448,734 7,425,050 7,364,263 7,201,468 7,360,8687,234,802 7,303,255 7,287,846 7,156,511 10/760,264 7,258,432 7,097,2917,645,025 10/760,248 7,083,273 7,367,647 7,374,355 7,441,880 7,547,09210/760,206 7,513,598 10/760,270 7,198,352 7,364,264 7,303,251 7,201,4707,121,655 7,293,861 7,232,208 7,328,985 7,344,232 7,083,272 7,621,62011/014,763 7,331,663 7,360,861 7,328,973 7,427,121 7,407,262 7,303,2527,249,822 7,537,309 7,311,382 7,360,860 7,364,257 7,390,075 7,350,8967,429,096 7,384,135 7,331,660 7,416,287 7,488,052 7,322,684 7,322,6857,311,381 7,270,405 7,303,268 7,470,007 7,399,072 7,393,076 11/014,7507,588,301 7,249,833 7,524,016 7,490,927 7,331,661 7,524,043 7,300,1407,357,492 7,357,493 7,566,106 7,380,902 7,284,816 7,284,845 7,255,4307,390,080 7,328,984 7,350,913 7,322,671 7,380,910 7,431,424 7,470,0067,585,054 7,347,534 6,454,482 6,808,330 6,527,365 6,474,773 6,550,9977,093,923 6,957,923 7,131,724 7,396,177 7,168,867 7,125,098 7,322,6777,079,292

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to mobile devices with an inbuilt printer.The invention has primarily been designed for use in a mobile devicesuch as a mobile telecommunications device (i.e. a mobile phone) thatincorporates a printer, and will be described with reference to such anapplication. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the invention can be used with other types of portable device, oreven non-portable devices.

The invention has primarily been designed for use in a mobiletelecommunications device such as a mobile telecommunications device(i.e. a mobile phone) that incorporates a printer, and will be describedwith reference to such an application. However, it will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that the invention can be used with othertypes of portable device, or even non-portable devices.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The Assignee has developed mobile phones, personal data assistants(PDAs) and other mobile telecommunication devices, with the ability toprint hard copies of images or information stored or accessed by thedevice (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,055 (Docket No. AP06US),filed on Nov. 9, 1999). Likewise, the Assignee has also designed digitalcameras with the ability to print captured images with an inbuiltprinter (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,750,901 (Docket No. ART01US)filed Jul. 10, 1998. As the prevalence of mobile telecommunicationsdevices with digital cameras increases, the functionality of thesedevices is further enhanced by the ability to print hard copies.

As these devices are portable, they must be compact for userconvenience. Accordingly, any printer incorporated into the device needsto maintain a small form factor. Also, the additional load on thebattery should be as little as possible. Furthermore, the consumables(ink and paper etc) should be relatively inexpensive and simple toreplenish. It is these factors that strongly influence the commercialsuccess or otherwise of products of this type. With these basic designimperatives in mind, there are on-going efforts to improve and refinethe functionality of these devices.

The Assignee of the present invention has also developed the Netpagesystem for enabling interaction with computer software using a printedinterface and a proprietary stylus-shaped sensing device.

As described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,165 (Docket No. NPS027US),filed on Nov. 25, 2000 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/778,056(Docket No. NPS047US), filed on Feb. 17, 2004, a Netpage pen captures,identifies and decodes tags of coded data printed onto a surface such asa page. In a preferred Netpage implementation, each tag encodes aposition and an identity of the document. By decoding at least one ofthe tags and transmitting the position (or a refined version of theposition, representing a higher resolution position of the pen) andidentity referred to by the decoded tag, a remote computer can determinean action to perform. Such actions can include, for example, causinginformation to be saved remotely for subsequent retrieval, downloadingof a webpage for printing or display via a computer, bill payment oreven the performance of handwriting recognition based on a series oflocations of the Netpage pen relative to the surface. These and otherapplications are described in many of the Netpage-related applicationscross-referenced by the present application.

When printing a Netpage, a printer in a mobile telecommunications devicecan print the Netpage tags simultaneously with visible user information.The association between the tags and information can already exist on aremote Netpage server, such as where the printer is printing a fullyrendered page (including tags) provided by the Netpage server or anothercomputer.

Alternatively, the mobile telecommunications device can generate thetags (or source them remotely) and define an association between thetags and user information. The association is then recorded in theremote Netpage server.

The problem with these options is that they require the mobiletelecommunications device to include Netpage tag printing capabilities.This requires an additional row of print nozzles in the printhead, andreduces the amounts of ink that can be stored for non-tag use. Whilstthis is less of an issue with large, mains-powered printers, it can bean issue in small form-factor articles such as mobile telecommunicationsdevices.

Alternatively, the mobile telecommunications device can be configured toprint on print media that is pre-printed with Netpage tags. That way theprinter need only print the user information and record an associationbetween the visible information and the pre-printed tags.

One way of doing this is to use a Netpage sensing device that scans thepage as it is printed to determine the content of at least one of thetags and positions of various elements of the user information relativeto the tags. This requires that the printer include a Netpage sensingdevice, which may be somewhat bulky for use in mobile applications, andrequires additional processing capacity. Even if a Netpage sensingdevice is provided to enable the mobile telecommunications device to actas a Netpage pen in a more general sense, it is undesirable for a userto have to separately scan a portion of the pre-printed media todetermine parameters of the coded data before inserting the media forprinting.

It would be desirable to overcome the problem of associating userinformation to be printed onto media at least partially pre-printed withNetpage tags.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod performed in a telecommunication device, the method comprisingthe steps of:

-   -   printing document information onto a plurality of print areas        with a printer of the telecommunication device, each of the        print areas being encoded with identity data which        differentiates each of the print areas from each other; sensing        the identity data with a sensor incorporated in a media feed        path of the printer; and transmitting the identity data and the        document information to a computer system with a transmitter of        the telecommunication device where the document information        printed on respective print areas is associated with the        identity data of the respective print areas.

Other aspects are also disclosed.

TERMINOLOGY

Mobile device: When used herein, the phrase “mobile device” is intendedto cover all devices that by default operate on a portable power sourcesuch as a battery. As well as including the mobile telecommunicationsdevice defined above, mobile devices include devices such as cameras,non telecommunications-enabled PDAs and hand-held portable game units.“Mobile devices” implicitly includes “mobile telecommunicationsdevices”, unless the converse is clear from the context.

Mobile telecommunications device: When used herein, the phrase “mobiletelecommunications device” is intended to cover all forms of device thatenable voice, video, audio and/or data transmission and/or reception.Typical mobile telecommunications devices include:

-   -   GSM and 3G mobile phones (cellphones) of all generational and        international versions, whether or not they incorporate data        transmission capabilities; and    -   PDAs incorporating wireless data communication protocols such as        GPRS/EDGE of all generational and international versions.

M-Print: The assignee's internal reference for a mobile printer,typically incorporated in a mobile device or a mobile telecommunicationsdevice. Throughout the specification, any reference made to the M-Printprinter is intended to broadly include the printing mechanism as well asthe embedded software which controls the printer, and the readingmechanism(s) for the media coding.

M-Print mobile telecommunications device: a mobile telecommunicationsdevice incorporating a Memjet printer.

Netpage mobile telecommunications device: a mobile telecommunicationsdevice incorporating a Netpage-enabled Memjet printer and/or a Netpagepointer.

Throughout the specification, the blank side of the medium intended tobe printed on by the M-Print printer is referred to as the front side.The other side of the medium, which may be pre-printed or blank, isreferred to as the back side.

Throughout the specification, the dimension of the medium parallel tothe transport direction is referred to as the longitudinal dimension.The orthogonal dimension is referred to as the lateral dimension.

Furthermore, where the medium is hereafter referred to as a card, itshould be understood that this is not meant to imply anything specificabout the construction of the card. It may be made of any suitablematerial including paper, plastic, metal, glass and so on. Likewise, anyreferences to the card having been pre-printed, either with graphics orwith the media coding itself, is not meant to imply a particularprinting process or even printing per se. The graphics and/or mediacoding can be disposed on or in the card by any suitable means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the modular interaction in aprinter/mobile phone;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the modular interaction in a tagsensor/mobile phone;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the modular interaction in aprinter/tag sensor/mobile phone;

FIG. 4 is a more detailed schematic representation of the architecturewithin the mobile phone of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a more detailed schematic representation of the architecturewithin the mobile phone module of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a more detailed schematic representation of the architecturewithin the printer module of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a more detailed schematic representation of the architecturewithin the tag sensor module of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the architecture within a tagdecoder module for use instead of the tag sensor module of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a ‘candy bar’ type mobilephone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a partially cut away front and bottom perspective of theembodiment shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a partially cut away rear and bottom perspective of theembodiment shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 with acard being fed into its media entry slot;

FIG. 13 is a cross section view taken along line A-A of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross section view taken along line A-A of FIG. 12 with thecard emerging from the media exit slot of the mobile phone;

FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of a first mode of operation ofMoPEC;

FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of a second mode of operation ofMoPEC;

FIG. 17 is a schematic representation of the hardware components of aMoPEC device;

FIG. 18 shows a simplified UML diagram of a page element;

FIG. 19 is a top perspective of the cradle assembly and piezoelectricdrive system;

FIG. 20 is a bottom perspective of the cradle assembly and piezoelectricdrive system;

FIG. 21 is a bottom perspective of the print cartridge installed in thecradle assembly;

FIG. 22 is a bottom perspective of the print cartridge removed from thecradle assembly;

FIG. 23 is a perspective of the print cartridge and the cradle assemblywith 6 mm diameter DC motor;

FIG. 24 is a perspective of the print cartridge and the cradle assemblywith 8 mm diameter DC motor and magnetic encoder;

FIG. 25 shows the arrangement to FIG. 24 except with an alternative geardrive train;

FIG. 26 is a perspective of the print cartridge and the cradle assemblywith 6 mm diameter DC motor with worm gear transmission;

FIG. 27 is a perspective of the print cartridge and the cradle assemblywith 8 mm diameter DC motor with worm gear transmission;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a print cartridge for an M-Printdevice;

FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective of the print cartridge shown in FIG.28;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of an alternative print cartridge;

FIG. 31 is an exploded top perspective of the print cartridge shown inFIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is an exploded bottom perspective of the print cartridge shownin FIG. 30;

FIG. 33 is a longitudinal cross section of the print cartridge shown inFIG. 30;

FIG. 34 is a lateral cross section of the print cartridge shown in FIG.30 viewed from the left;

FIG. 35 is a partial lateral cross section of the print cartridge shownin FIG. 30 viewed from the right with a full ink reservoir;

FIG. 36 is a partial lateral cross section of the print cartridge shownin FIG. 30 viewed from the right with a depleted ink reservoir;

FIG. 37 is an exploded top perspective of another alternative printcartridge;

FIG. 38 is an exploded bottom perspective of the print cartridge shownin FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is a partial enlargement of the bottom of the housing showingthe ink balance ducts between the outlets;

FIG. 40 is a circuit diagram of a fusible link on the printhead IC;

FIG. 41 is a circuit diagram of a single fuse cell;

FIG. 42 is a schematic overview of the printhead IC and its connectionto MoPEC;

FIG. 43 is a schematic representation showing the relationship betweennozzle columns and dot shift registers in the CMOS blocks of FIG. 42;

FIG. 44 shows a more detailed schematic showing a unit cell and itsrelationship to the nozzle columns and dot shift registers of FIG. 43;

FIG. 45 shows a circuit diagram showing logic for a single printheadnozzle;

FIG. 46 is a schematic representation of the physical positioning of theodd and even nozzle rows;

FIG. 47 shows a magnified partial perspective view of the printhead IC;

FIG. 48 shows a vertical sectional view of a single nozzle for ejectingink in a quiescent state;

FIG. 49 shows a vertical sectional view of the nozzle of FIG. 48 duringan initial actuation phase;

FIG. 50 shows a vertical sectional view of the nozzle of FIG. 48 laterin the actuation phase;

FIG. 51 shows a perspective partial vertical sectional view of thenozzle of FIG. 48, at the actuation state shown in FIG. 50;

FIG. 52 shows a perspective vertical section of the nozzle of FIG. 48,with ink omitted;

FIG. 53 shows a vertical sectional view of the of the nozzle of FIG. 52;

FIG. 54 shows a perspective partial vertical sectional view of thenozzle of FIG. 48, at the actuation state shown in FIG. 49;

FIG. 55 shows a plan view of the nozzle of FIG. 48;

FIG. 56 shows a plan view of the nozzle of FIG. 48 with the lever armand movable nozzle removed for clarity;

FIG. 57 shows a perspective vertical sectional view of a part of aprinthead chip incorporating a plurality of the nozzle arrangements ofthe type shown in FIG. 48;

FIG. 58 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through an ink chamber ofa single bubble forming type nozzle with a bubble nucleating aboutheater element;

FIG. 59 shows the bubble growing in the nozzle of FIG. 58;

FIG. 60 shows further bubble growth within the nozzle of FIG. 58;

FIG. 61 shows the formation of the ejected ink drop from the nozzle ofFIG. 58;

FIG. 62 shows the detachment of the ejected ink drop and the collapse ofthe bubble in the nozzle of FIG. 58;

FIG. 63 is a perspective showing the longitudinal insertion of the printcartridge into the cradle assembly;

FIG. 64 is a lateral cross section of the print cartridge inserted intothe cradle assembly;

FIGS. 65 to 74 are lateral cross sections through the print cartridgeshowing the decapping and capping of the printhead;

FIG. 75 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the end of the printcartridge indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 77B;

FIG. 76 is a similar sectional view with the locking mechanism rotatedto the locked position;

FIG. 77A is an end view of the print cartridge with a card partiallyalong the feed path;

FIG. 77B is a longitudinal section of the print cartridge through A-A ofFIG. 77A;

FIG. 78 is a partial enlarged perspective of one end the print cartridgewith the capper in the capped position;

FIG. 79 is a partial enlarged perspective of one end the print cartridgewith the capper in the uncapped position;

FIGS. 80 to 84 are lateral cross sections of an alternative printcartridge showing the actuation of the capper by a force transfermechanism;

FIG. 85 is a perspective of a marking nib version of thecartridge/cradle assembly;

FIG. 86 is the assembly of FIG. 85 with the nib mechanism exploded;

FIG. 87 is the assembly of FIG. 86 with the cartridge separated from thecradle;

FIG. 88 is an exploded perspective of a further print cartridge withoptical transmission of the print data to the printhead;

FIG. 89 is a lateral cross section through the cartridge of FIG. 88showing the LED beacon for generating the modulated IR signal;

FIG. 90 is a partially cut away perspective showing the LED beacon andthe photosensor on the printhead;

FIG. 91 shows the media coding on the ‘back-side’ of the card withseparate clock and data tracks;

FIG. 92 is a block diagram of an M-Print system that uses media withseparate clock and data tracks;

FIG. 93 is a simplified circuit diagram for an optical encoder;

FIG. 94 is a block diagram of the MoPEC with the clock and data inputs;

FIG. 95 is a block diagram of the optional edge detector and page syncgenerator for the M-Print system of FIG. 92;

FIG. 96 is a block diagram of a MoPEC that uses media with a pilotsequence in the data track to generate a page sync signal;

FIG. 97 is a schematic representation of the position of the encodersalong media feed path;

FIG. 98 shows the ‘back-side’ of a card with a self clocking data track;

FIG. 99 is a block diagram of the decoder for a self clocking datatrack;

FIG. 100 is a block diagram of the phase lock loop synchronization ofthe dual clock track sensors;

FIG. 101 shows the dual phase lock loop signals at different phases ofthe media feed;

FIG. 102 shows the ‘back-side’ of a card with side and orientationindicators;

FIG. 103 shows the ‘back-side’ of a card with a detachable strip;

FIG. 104 shows the card of FIG. MC11 with the detachable strip detachedfrom the card proper;

FIG. 105 shows the ‘back-side’ of a card with a detachable stripdetached and additional side and orientation indicator;

FIG. 106 shows a square-cornered card with detachable strip;

FIG. 107 shows the card of FIG. MC14 with the detachable strip detachedfrom the card proper;

FIG. 108 shows a card with lateral data track on the detachable strip atthe leading edge;

FIG. 109 is a detailed physical view of a Memjet printhead IC with anintegral image sensor for reading a lateral data track;

FIG. 110 is a perspective of a dual drive shaft version of the cartridgecradle assembly;

FIGS. 111, 112 and 113 are front, side and plans views respectively ofthe assembly shown in FIG. 110;

FIG. 114 is a cross section of the cartridge taken along A-A of FIG.113;

FIG. 115 is a schematic representation of an encoder-drive-printheadconfiguration;

FIG. 116 is a schematic representation of a drive—encoder—printheadconfiguration;

FIG. 117 is a schematic representation of an encoder-printhead—driveconfiguration;

FIG. 118 is a schematic representation of anencoder-drive-printhead-drive configuration;

FIG. 119 is a schematic representation of anencoder-drive-printhead—encoder configuration;

FIG. 120 is a schematic representation of adrive—encoder—printhead—drive configuration;

FIG. 121 is a block diagram of the Kip encoding layers;

FIG. 122 is a schematic representation of the Kip frame structure;

FIG. 123 is a schematic representation of an encoded frame with explicitclocking;

FIG. 124 is a schematic representation of an encoded frame with implicitclocking;

FIG. 125 shows Kip coding marks and spaces that are nominally two dotswide;

FIG. 126 is a schematic representation of the extended Kip framestructure;

FIG. 127 shows the data symbols and the redundancy symbols of theReed-Solomon codeword layout;

FIG. 128 shows the interleaving of the data symbols of the Reed-Solomoncodewords;

FIG. 129 shows the interleaving of the redundancy symbols of theReed-Solomon codewords;

FIG. 130 shows the structure of a single Netpage tag;

FIG. 131 shows the structure of a single symbol within a Netpage tag;

FIG. 132 shows an array of nine adjacent symbols;

FIG. 133 shows the ordering of the bits within the symbol;

FIG. 134 shows a single Netpage tag with every bit set;

FIG. 135 shows a tag group of four tags;

FIG. 136 shows the tag groups repeated in a continuous tile pattern;

FIG. 137 shows the contiguous tile pattern of tag groups, each with fourdifferent tag types;

FIG. 138 is an architectural overview of a Netpage enabled mobile phonewithin the broader Netpage system;

FIG. 139 shows an architectural overview of the mobile phone microserveras a relay between the stylus and the Netpage server;

FIG. 140 is a perspective of a Netpage enabled mobile phone with therear moulding removed;

FIG. 141 is a partial enlarged perspective of the phone shown in FIG.140 with the Netpage clicker partially sectioned;

FIG. 142 is a system level diagram of the Jupiter monolithic integratedcircuit;

FIG. 143 is a simplified circuit diagram of the Ganymede image sensorand analogue to digital converter;

FIG. 144 shows the basic configuration of a two dimensional tag sensor;

FIG. 145 shows a possible configuration of a multiplexed tag sensor withdual optical paths and single image sensor;

FIG. 146 shows a variant of the tag sensor shown in FIG. 145;

FIG. 147 shows a variant of the tag sensor shown in FIG. 146;

FIG. 148 shows a variant of the tag sensor shown in FIG. 147;

FIGS. 149 and 150 show a multiplexed tag sensor with a pivoting mirrorfor internal or external image;

FIG. 151 is a front elevation of a personal data assistant (PDA)embodiment;

FIG. 152 is a front perspective of the PDA shown in FIG. 151 with mediaprotruding from the exit slot;

FIG. 153 is a front perspective of the PDA shown in FIG. 151 with mediaprotruding from the exit slot and the Netpage pointer extended;

FIG. 154 is a longitudinal cross section of the PDA taken through A-A ofFIG. 151;

FIG. 155 is a partially sectioned rear perspective of the PDA shown inFIG. 151;

FIG. 156 is an enlarged, partially sectioned, partial perspective of thePDA shown in FIG. 151;

FIG. 157 is a rear perspective of the PDA with the media cartridgeremoved;

FIG. 158 is the PDA of FIG. 157 without the rear moulding;

FIG. 159 is an enlarged rear and bottom perspective of the PDA of FIG.158;

FIG. 160 is an exploded perspective of the media cartridge;

FIG. 161 is a perspective of the cartridge with universal pen in itsretracted configuration;

FIG. 162 is a perspective of the cartridge with universal pen in itsunlocked extended configuration;

FIG. 163 is a perspective of the cartridge with universal pen in itslocked extended configuration;

FIG. 164 is an exploded perspective of the cartridge with universal pen;

FIG. 165 is a partial perspective showing the pen TAB film connection tothe main cartridge TAB film;

FIG. 166 is an end elevation showing the nozzle pattern at the nib ofthe pen;

FIG. 167 is a lateral cross section through the flexible data, power andink conduit to the stylus;

FIG. 168 shows the stylus nib contacting the substrate at threedifferent angles;

FIG. 169 is an exploded top perspective of the stylus nib;

FIG. 170 is an exploded bottom perspective of the stylus nib;

FIG. 171 is a plan view of the nib printhead;

FIG. 172 is a perspective view of the nib printhead with the capper inthe open position;

FIG. 173 is a perspective view of the nib printhead with the capper inthe closed position;

FIG. 174 is an axial cross section of the nib printhead;

FIG. 175 is a bottom perspective of the nib printhead;

FIG. 176 is a bottom perspective of the nib printhead;

FIG. 177 is an exploded top perspective of the nib printhead;

FIG. 178 is the layer of electrically active semiconductor elementswithin the nib printhead;

FIG. 179 is a perspective another embodiment of the stylus nib printheadand cartridge assembly, where the stylus is mounted to the cartridge;

FIG. 180 is an enlarged partial perspective of a cutaway end of thecartridge showing the ink connection to the stylus nib;

FIG. 181 is an exploded perspective of the assembly of FIG. 179;

FIG. 182 is a perspective of the assembly of FIG. 179 with an optionalIR LED and CCD photosensor;

FIG. 183 shows a first alternative arrangement for the nozzles on thenib printhead; and,

FIG. 184 shows a second alternative arrangement for the nozzles on thenib printhead.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS MobileTelecommunications Device Overview

Whilst the main embodiment includes both Netpage and printingfunctionality, only one or the other of these features is provided inother embodiments.

One such embodiment is shown in FIG. 1, in which a mobiletelecommunications device in the form of a mobile phone 1 (also known asa “cellphone”) includes a mobile phone module 2 and a printer module 4.The mobile phone module is configured to send and receive voice and datavia a telecommunications network (not shown) in a conventional mannerknown to those skilled in the art. The printer module 4 is configured toprint a page 6. Depending upon the particular implementation, theprinter module 4 can be configured to print the page 6 in color ormonochrome.

The mobile telecommunications device can use any of a variety of knownoperating systems, such as Symbian (with UIQ and Series 60 GUIs),Windows Mobile, PalmOS, and Linux.

In the preferred embodiment (described in more detail below), the printmedia is pre-printed with tags, and the printer module 4 prints visibleinformation onto the page 6 in registration with the tags. In otherembodiments, Netpage tags are printed by the printer module onto thepage 6 along with the other information. The tags can be printed usingeither the same visible ink as used to print visible information, orusing an infrared or other substantially invisible ink.

The information printed by the printer module 4 can include user datastored in the mobile phone 1 (including phonebook and appointment data)or text and images received via the telecommunications network or fromanother device via a communication mechanism such as Bluetooth™ orinfrared transmission. If the mobile phone 1 includes a camera, theprinter module 4 can be configured to print the captured images. In thepreferred form, the mobile phone module 2 provides at least basicediting capabilities to enable cropping, filtering or addition of textor other image data to the captured image before printing.

The configuration and operation of the printer module 4 is described inmore detail below in the context of various types of mobiletelecommunication device that incorporate a printhead.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a mobile telecommunications device,in which the printer module 4 is omitted, and a Netpage tag sensormodule 8 is included. The Netpage module 8 enables interaction betweenthe mobile phone 1 and a page 10 including Netpage tags. Theconfiguration and operation of the Netpage pointer in a mobile phone 1is described in more detail below. Although not shown, the mobile phone1 with Netpage module 8 can include a camera.

FIG. 3 shows a mobile phone 1 that includes both a printer module 4 anda Netpage tag sensor module 8. As with the embodiment of FIG. 2, theprinter module 4 can be configured to print tagged or untagged pages. Asshown in FIG. 3, where tagged pages 10 are produced (and irrespective ofwhether the tags were pre-printed or printed by the printer module 4),the Netpage tag sensor module 8 can be used to interact with theresultant printed media.

A more detailed architectural view of the mobile phone 1 of FIG. 3 isshown in FIG. 4, in which features corresponding to those shown in FIG.3 are indicated with the same reference numerals. It will be appreciatedthat FIG. 4 deals only with communication between various electroniccomponents in the mobile telecommunications device and omits mechanicalfeatures. These are described in more detail below.

The Netpage tag sensor module 8 includes a monolithically integratedNetpage image sensor and processor 12 that captures image data andreceives a signal from a contact switch 14. The contact switch 14 isconnected to a nib (not shown) to determine when the nib is pressed intocontact with a surface. The sensor and processor 12 also outputs asignal to control illumination of an infrared LED 16 in response to thestylus being pressed against the surface.

The image sensor and processor 12 outputs processed tag information to aNetpage pointer driver 18 that interfaces with the phone operatingsystem 20 running on the mobile telecommunications device's processor(not shown).

Output to be printed is sent by the phone operating system 20 to aprinter driver 22, which passes it on to a MoPEC chip 24. The MoPEC chipprocesses the output to generate dot data for supply to the printhead26, as described in more detail below. The MoPEC chip 24 also receives asignal from a media sensor 28 indicating when the media is in positionto be printed, and outputs a control signal to a media transport 30.

The printhead 26 is disposed within a replaceable cartridge 32, whichalso includes ink 34 for supply to the printhead.

Mobile Telecommunications Device Module

FIG. 5 shows the mobile phone module 2 in more detail. The majority ofthe components other than those directly related to printing and Netpagetag sensing are standard and well known to those in the art. Dependingupon the specific implementation of the mobile phone 1, any number ofthe illustrated components can be included as part of one or moreintegrated circuits.

Operation of, and communication between, the mobile phone module 2components is controlled by a mobile phone controller 36. The componentsinclude:

-   -   mobile radio transceiver 38 for wireless communication with a        mobile telecommunications network;    -   program memory 40 for storing program code for execution on the        mobile phone controller 36;    -   working memory 42 for storing data used and generated by the        program code during execution. Although shown as separate from        the mobile phone controller 36, either or both memories 40 and        42 may be incorporated in the package or silicon of the        controller;    -   keypad 44 and buttons 46 for accepting numerical and other user        input;    -   touch sensor 48 which overlays display 50 for accepting user        input via a stylus or fingertip pressure;    -   removable memory card 52 containing non-volatile memory 54 for        storing arbitrary user data, such as digital photographs or        files;    -   local area radio transceiver 56, such as a Bluetooth™        transceiver;    -   GPS receiver 58 for enabling determination of the location of        the mobile telecommunications device (alternatively the phone        may rely on mobile network mechanisms for determining its        location);    -   microphone 60 for capturing a user's speech;    -   speaker 62 for outputting sounds, including voice during a phone        call;    -   camera image sensor 64 including a CCD for capturing images;    -   camera flash 66;    -   power manager 68 for monitoring and controlling power        consumption of the mobile telecommunications device and its        components; and    -   SIM (subscriber Identity Module) card 70 including SIM 72 for        identifying the subscriber to mobile networks.

The mobile phone controller 36 implements the baseband functions ofmobile voice and data communications protocols such as GSM, GSM modemfor data, GPRS and CDMA, as well as higher-level messaging protocolssuch as SMS and MMS.

The one or more local-area radio transceivers 56 enable wirelesscommunication with peripherals such as headsets and Netpage pens, andhosts such as personal computers. The mobile phone controller 36 alsoimplements the baseband functions of local-area voice and datacommunications protocols such as IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, andBluetooth™.

The mobile phone module 2 may also include sensors and/or motors (notshown) for electronically adjusting zoom, focus, aperture and exposurein relation to the digital camera.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6, components of the printer module 4include:

-   -   print engine controller (PEC) 74 in the form of a MoPEC device;    -   program memory 76 for storing program code for execution by the        print engine controller 74;    -   working memory 78 for storing data used and generated by the        program code during execution by the print engine controller 74;        and    -   a master QA chip 80 for authenticating printhead cartridge 32        via its QA chip 82.

Whilst the printhead cartridge in the preferred form includes the inksupply 34, the ink reservoirs can be housed in a separate cartridge inalternative embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows the components of the tag sensor module 8, which includes aCMOS tag image processor 74 that communicates with image memory 76. ACMOS tag image sensor 78 sends captured image data to the processor 74for processing. The contact sensor 14 indicates when a nib (not shown)is brought into contact with a surface with sufficient force to close aswitch within the contact sensor 14. Once the switch is closed, theinfrared LED 16 illuminates the surface, and the image sensor 78captures at least one image and sends it to the image processor 74 forprocessing. Once processed (as described below in more detail), imagedata is sent to the mobile phone controller 36 for decoding.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 8, the tag sensor module 8is replaced by a tag decoder module 84. The tag decoder module 80includes all the elements of the tag sensor module 8, but adds ahardware-based tag decoder 86, as well as program memory 88 and workingmemory 90 for the tag decoder. This arrangement reduces thecomputational load placed on the mobile phone controller, with acorresponding increase in chip area compared to using the tag sensormodule 8.

The Netpage sensor module can be incorporated in the form of a Netpagepointer, which is a simplified Netpage pen suitable mostly foractivating hyperlinks. It preferably incorporates a non-marking stylusin place of the pen's marking nib (described in detail later in thespecification); it uses a surface contact sensor in place of the pen'scontinuous force sensor; and it preferably operates at a lower positionsampling rate, making it unsuitable for capturing drawings andhand-writing. A Netpage pointer is less expensive to implement than aNetpage pen, and tag image processing and tag decoding can potentiallybe performed by software without hardware support, depending on samplingrate.

The various aspects of the invention can be embodied in any of a numberof mobile telecommunications device types. Several different devices aredescribed here, but in the interests of brevity, the detaileddescription will concentrate on the mobile telecommunications deviceembodiment.

Mobile Phone

One preferred embodiment is the non-Netpage enabled ‘candy bar’ mobiletelecommunications device in the form of a mobile phone shown in FIGS. 9to 14. A Netpage enabled version is described in a later section of thisspecification.

While a candy bar style phone is described here, it could equally takethe form of a “flip” style phone, which includes a pair of body sectionsthat are hinged to each other. Typically, the display is disposed on oneof the body sections, and the keypad is disposed on the other, such thatthe display and keypad are positioned adjacent to each other when thedevice is in the closed position.

In further embodiments, the device can have two body sections thatrotate or slide relative to each other. Typically, the aim of thesemechanical relationships between first and second body sections is toprotect the display from scratches and/or the keypad from accidentalactivation.

Photo printing is considered one of the most compelling uses of themobile Memjet printer. A preferred embodiment of the invention thereforeincludes a camera, with its attendant processing power and memorycapacity.

The elements of the mobile telecommunications device are best shown inFIG. 9, which (for clarity) omits minor details such as wires andhardware that operatively connect the various elements of the mobiletelecommunications device together. The wires and other hardware will bewell known to those skilled in the art.

The mobile phone 100 comprises a chassis moulding 102, a front moulding104 and a rear cover moulding 106. A rechargeable battery 108, such as alithium ion or nickel metal hydride battery, is mounted to the chassismoulding 102 and covered by the rear cover moulding 106. The battery 108powers the various components of the mobile phone 100 via batteryconnector 276 and the camera and speaker connector 278.

The front moulding 104 mounts to the chassis to enclose the variouscomponents, and includes numerical interface buttons 136 positioned invertical rows on each side of the display 138. A multi-directionalcontrol pad 142 and other control buttons 284 enable menu navigation andother control inputs. A daughterboard 280 is mounted to the chassismoulding 102 and includes a directional switch 286 for the multidirectional control pad 142.

The mobile telecommunications device includes a cartridge access cover132 that protects the interior of the mobile telecommunications devicefrom dust and other foreign objects when a print cartridge 148 is notinserted in the cradle 124.

An optional camera module 110 is also mounted to the chassis moulding102, to enable image capture through a hole 112 in the rear covermoulding 106. The camera module 110 includes a lens assembly and a CCDimage sensor for capturing images. A lens cover 268 in the hole 112protects the lens of the camera module 110. The rear cover moulding 106also includes an inlet slot 228 and an outlet slot 150 through whichprint media passes.

The chassis moulding 102 supports a data/recharge connector 114, whichenables a proprietary data cable to be plugged into the mobiletelecommunications device for uploading and downloading data such asaddress book information, photographs, messages, and any type ofinformation that might be sent or received by the mobiletelecommunications device. The data/recharge connector 114 is configuredto engage a corresponding interface in a desktop stand (not shown),which holds the mobile telecommunications device in a generally uprightposition whilst data is being sent or received by the mobiletelecommunications device. The data/recharge connector also includescontacts that enable recharging of the battery 108 via the desktopstand. A separate recharge socket 116 in the data/recharge connector 114is configured to receive a complimentary recharge plug for enablingrecharging of the battery when the desktop stand is not in use.

A microphone 170 is mounted to the chassis moulding 102 for convertingsound, such as a user's voice, into an electronic signal to be sampledby the mobile telecommunications device's analog to digital conversioncircuitry. This conversion is well known to those skilled in the art andso is not described in more detail here.

A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) holder 118 is formed in the chassismoulding 102, to receive a SIM card 120. The chassis moulding is alsoconfigured to support a print cartridge cradle 124 and a drive mechanism126, which receive a replaceable print cartridge 148. These features aredescribed in more detail below.

Another moulding in the chassis moulding 102 supports an aerial (notshown) for sending and receiving RF signals to and from a mobiletelecommunications network.

A main printed circuit board (PCB) 130 is supported by the chassismoulding 102, and includes a number of momentary pushbuttons 132. Thevarious integrated and discrete components that support thecommunications and processing (including printing processing) functionsare mounted to the main PCB, but for clarity are not shown in thediagram.

A conductive elastomeric overlay 134 is positioned on the main PCB 130beneath the keys 136 on the front moulding 104. The elastomerincorporates a carbon impregnated pill on a flexible profile. When oneof the keys 136 is pressed, it pushes the carbon pill to a 2-wire opencircuit pattern 132 on the PCB surface. This provides a low impedanceclosed circuit. Alternatively, a small dome is formed on the overlaycorresponding to each key 132. Polyester film is screen printed withcarbon paint and used in a similar manner to the carbon pills. Thinadhesive film with berrylium copper domes can also be used.

A loudspeaker 144 is installed adjacent apertures 272 in the frontmoulding 104 to enable a user to hear sound such as voice communicationand other audible signals.

A color display 138 is also mounted to the main PCB 130, to enablevisual feedback to a user of the mobile telecommunications device. Atransparent lens moulding 146 protects the display 138. In one form, thetransparent lens is touch-sensitive (or is omitted and the display 138is touch sensitive), enabling a user to interact with icons and inputtext displayed on the display 138, with a finger or stylus.

A vibration assembly 274 is also mounted to the chassis moulding 102,and includes a motor that drives an eccentrically mounted weight tocause vibration. The vibration is transmitted to the chassis 102 andprovides tactile feedback to a user, which is useful in noisyenvironments where ringtones are not audible.

MoPEC—High Level

Documents to be printed must be in the form of dot data by the time theyreach the printhead.

Before conversion to dot data, the image is represented by a relativelyhigh spatial resolution bilevel component (for text and line art) and arelatively low spatial resolution contone component (for images andbackground colors). The bilevel component is compressed in a losslessformat, whilst the contone component is compressed in accordance with alossy format, such as JPEG.

The preferred form of MoPEC is configurable to operate in either of twomodes. In the first mode, as shown in FIG. 15, an image to be printed isreceived in the form of compressed image data. The compressed image datacan arrive as a single bundle of data or as separate bundles of datafrom the same or different sources. For example, text can be receivedfrom a first remote server and image data for a banner advertisement canbe received from another. Alternatively, either or both of the forms ofdata can be retrieved from local memory in the mobile device.

Upon receipt, the compressed image data is buffered in memory buffer650. The bilevel and contone components are decompressed by respectivedecompressors as part of expand page step 652. This can either be donein hardware or software, as described in more detail below. Thedecompressed bilevel and contone components are then buffered inrespective FIFOs 654 and 656.

The decompressed contone component is halftoned by a halftoning unit658, and a compositing unit 660 then composites the bilevel componentover the dithered contone component. Typically, this will involvecompositing text over images. However, the system can also be run instencil mode, in which the bilevel component is interpreted as a maskthat is laid over the dithered contone component. Depending upon what isselected as the image component for the area in which the mask is beingapplied, the result can be text filled with the underlying image (ortexture), or a mask for the image. The advantage of stencil mode is thatthe bilevel component is not dithered, enabling sharp edges to bedefined. This can be useful in certain applications, such as definingborders or printing text comprising colored textures.

After compositing, the resultant image is dot formatted 662, whichincludes ordering dots for output to the printhead and taking intoaccount any spatial or operative compensation issues, as described inmore detail below. The formatted dots are then supplied to the printheadfor printing, again as described in more detail below.

In the second mode of operation, as shown in FIG. 16, the contone andbilevel components are received in uncompressed form by MoPEC directlyinto respective FIFOs 656 and 654. The source of the components dependson the application. For example, the host processor in the mobiletelecommunications device can be configured to generate the decompressedimage components from compressed versions, or can simply be arranged toreceive the uncompressed components from elsewhere, such as the mobiletelecommunications network or the communication port described in moredetail elsewhere.

Once the bilevel and contone components are in their respective FIFOs,MoPEC performs the same operations as described in relation to the firstmode, and like numerals have therefore been used to indicate likefunctional blocks.

As shown in FIG. 18, the central data structure for the preferredprinting architecture is a generalised representation of the threelayers, called a page element. A page element can be used to representunits ranging from single rendered elements emerging from a renderingengine up to an entire page of a print job. FIG. 18 shows a simplifiedUML diagram of a page element 300. Conceptually, the bi-level symbolregion selects between the two color sources.

MoPEC Device—Low Level

The hardware components of a preferred MoPEC device 326 are shown inFIG. 17 and described in more detail below.

Conceptually, a MoPEC device is simply a SoPEC device (ie, as describedin cross-referenced application U.S. Ser. No. 10/727,181 (Docket No.PEAOIUS), filed on Dec. 2, 2003) that is optimized for use in alow-power, low print-speed environment of a mobile phone. Indeed, aslong as power requirements are satisfied, a SoPEC device is capable ofproviding the functionality required of MoPEC. However, the limitationson battery power in a mobile device make it desirable to modify theSoPEC design.

As shown in FIG. 17, from the high level point of view a MoPEC consistsof three distinct subsystems: a Central Processing Unit (CPU) subsystem1301, a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) subsystem 1302 and a PrintEngine Pipeline (PEP) subsystem 1303.

MoPEC has a much smaller eDRAM requirement than SoPEC. This is largelydue to the considerably smaller print media for which MoPEC is designedto generate print data.

In one form, MoPEC can be provided in the form of a stand-alone ASICdesigned to be installed in a mobile telecommunications device.Alternatively, it can be incorporated onto another ASIC thatincorporates some or all of the other functionality required for themobile telecommunications device.

The CPU subsystem 1301 includes a CPU that controls and configures allaspects of the other subsystems. It provides general support forinterfacing and synchronizing the external printer with the internalprint engine. It also controls low-speed communication to QA chips(which are described elsewhere in this specification) in cases wherethey are used. The preferred embodiment does not utilize QA chips in thecartridge or the mobile telecommunications device.

The CPU subsystem 1301 also contains various peripherals to aid the CPU,such as General Purpose Input Output (GPIO, which includes motorcontrol), an Interrupt Controller Unit (ICU), LSS Master and generaltimers. The USB block provides an interface to the host processor in themobile telecommunications device, as well as to external data sourceswhere required. The selection of USB as a communication standard is amatter of design preference, and other types of communications protocolscan be used, such as Firewire or SPI.

The DRAM subsystem 1302 accepts requests from the CPU, USB and blockswithin the Print Engine Pipeline (PEP) subsystem. The DRAM subsystem1302, and in particular the DRAM Interface Unit (DIU), arbitrates thevarious requests and determines which request should win access to theDRAM. The DIU arbitrates based on configured parameters, to allowsufficient access to DRAM for all requesters. The DIU also hides theimplementation specifics of the DRAM such as page size, number of banksand refresh rates. It will be appreciated that the DRAM can beconsiderably smaller than in the original SoPEC device, because thepages being printed are considerably smaller. Also, if the hostprocessor can supply decompressed print data at a high enough rate, theDRAM can be made very small (of the order of 128-256 kbytes), sincethere is no need to buffer an entire page worth of information beforecommencing printing.

The Print Engine Pipeline (PEP) subsystem 1303 accepts compressed pagesfrom DRAM and renders them to bi-level dots for a given print linedestined for a printhead interface that communicates directly with theprinthead. The first stage of the page expansion pipeline is the ContoneDecoder Unit (CDU) and Lossless Bi-level Decoder (LBD). The CDU expandsthe JPEG-compressed contone (typically CMYK) layers and the LBD expandsthe compressed bi-level layer (typically K). The output from the firststage is a set of buffers: the Contone FIFO unit (CFU) and the Spot FIFOUnit (SFU). The CFU and SFU buffers are implemented in DRAM.

The second stage is the Halftone Compositor Unit (HCU), which halftonesand dithers the contone layer and composites the bi-level spot layerover the resulting bi-level dithered layer.

A number of compositing options can be implemented, depending upon theprinthead with which the MoPEC device is used. Up to six channels ofbi-level data are produced from this stage, although not all channelsmay be present on the printhead. For example, in the preferredembodiment, the printhead is configured to print only CMY, with K pushedinto the CMY channels, and IR omitted.

In the third stage, a Dead Nozzle Compensator (DNC) compensates for deadnozzles in the printhead by color redundancy and error diffusing of deadnozzle data into surrounding dots.

The resultant bi-level dot-data (being CMY in the preferred embodiment)is buffered and written to a set of line buffers stored in DRAM via aDotline Writer Unit (DWU).

Finally, the dot-data is loaded back from DRAM, and passed to theprinthead interface via a dot FIFO. The dot FIFO accepts data from aLine Loader Unit (LLU) at the system clock rate, while the PrintHeadInterface (PHI) removes data from the FIFO and sends it to theprinthead.

The amount of DRAM required will vary depending upon the particularimplementation of MoPEC (including the system in which it isimplemented). In this regard, the preferred MoPEC design is capable ofbeing configured to operate in any of three modes. All of the modesavailable under the preferred embodiment assume that the received imagedata will be preprocessed in some way. The preprocessing includes, forexample, color space conversion and scaling, where necessary.

In the first mode, the image data is decompressed by the host processorand supplied to MoPEC for transfer directly to the HCU. In this mode,the CDU and LBD are effectively bypassed, and the decompressed data isprovided directly to the CFU and SFU to be passed on to the HCU. Becausedecompression is performed outside MoPEC, and the HCU and subsequenthardware blocks are optimized for their jobs, the MoPEC device can beclocked relatively slowly, and there is no need for the MoPEC CPU to beparticularly powerful. As a guide, a clock speed of 10 to 20 MHz issuitable.

In the second mode, the image data is supplied to MoPEC in compressedform. To begin with, this requires an increase in MoPEC DRAM, to aminimum of about 256 kbytes (although double that is preferable). In thesecond mode, the CDU and LBD (and their respective buffers) are utilizedto perform hardware decompression of the compressed contone and bilevelimage data. Again, since these are hardware units optimized to performtheir jobs, the system can be clocked relatively slowly, and there isstill no need for a particularly powerful MoPEC processor. Adisadvantage with this mode, however, is that the CDU and LBD, beinghardware, are somewhat inflexible. They are optimized for particulardecompression jobs, and in the preferred embodiment, cannot bereconfigured to any great extent to perform different decompressiontasks.

In the third mode, the CDU and LBD are again bypassed, but MoPEC stillreceives image data in compressed form. Decompression is performed insoftware by the MoPEC CPU. Given that the CPU is a general-purposeprocessor, it must be relatively powerful to enable it to performacceptably quick decompression of the compressed contone and bilevelimage data. A higher clock speed will also be required, of the order of3 to 10 times the clock speed where software decompression is notrequired. As with the second mode, at least 256 kbytes of DRAM arerequired on the MoPEC device. The third mode has the advantage of beingprogrammable with respect to the type of decompression being performed.However, the need for a more powerful processor clocked at a higherspeed means that power consumption will be correspondingly higher thanfor the first two modes.

It will be appreciated that enabling all of these modes to be selectedin one MoPEC device requires the worst case features for all of themodes to be implemented. So, for example, at least 256 kbytes of DRAM,the capacity for higher clock speeds, a relatively powerful processorand the ability to selectively bypass the CDU and LBD must all beimplemented in MoPEC. Of course, one or more of the modes can be omittedfor any particular implementation, with a corresponding removal of thelimitations of the features demanded by the availability of that mode.

In the preferred form, the MoPEC device is color space agnostic.Although it can accept contone data as CMYX or RGBX, where X is anoptional 4th channel, it also can accept contone data in any print colorspace. Additionally, MoPEC provides a mechanism for arbitrary mapping ofinput channels to output channels, including combining dots for inkoptimization and generation of channels based on any number of otherchannels. However, inputs are preferably CMY for contone input and K(pushed into CMY by MoPEC) for the bi-level input.

In the preferred form, the MoPEC device is also resolution agnostic. Itmerely provides a mapping between input resolutions and outputresolutions by means of scale factors. The preferred resolution is 1600dpi, but MoPEC actually has no knowledge of the physical resolution ofthe printhead to which it supplies dot data.

Unit Subsystem Acronym Unit Name Description DRAM DIU DRAM interfaceunit Provides interface for DRAM read and write access for the variousMoPEC units, CPU and the USB block. The DIU provides arbitration betweencompeting units and controls DRAM access. DRAM Embedded DRAM 128 kbytes(or greater, depending upon implementation) of embedded DRAM. CPU CPUCentral Processing Unit CPU for system configuration and control MMUMemory Management Limits access to certain memory Unit address areas inCPU user mode RDU Real-time Debug Unit Facilitates the observation ofthe contents of most of the CPU addressable registers in MoPEC, inaddition to some pseudo- registers in real time TIM General Timerontains watchdog and general system timers LSS Low Speed Serial Lowlevel controller for Interface interfacing with QA chips GPIO GeneralPurpose IOs General IO controller, with built- in motor control unit,LED pulse units and de-glitch circuitry ROM Boot ROM 16 KBytes of SystemBoot ROM code ICU Interrupt Controller Unit General Purpose interruptcontroller with configurable priority, and masking. CPR Clock, Power andReset Central Unit for controlling and block generating the systemclocks and resets and powerdown mechanisms PSS Power Save StorageStorage retained while system is powered down USB Universal Serial BusUSB device controller for Device interfacing with the host USB. PrintPCU PEP controller Provides external CPU with the Engine means to readand write PEP Unit Pipeline registers, and read and write DRAM (PEP) insingle 32-bit chunks. CDU Contone Decoder Unit Expands JPEG compressedcontone layer and writes decompressed contone to DRAM CFU Contone FIFOUnit Provides line buffering between CDU and HCU LBD Lossless Bi-levelExpands compressed bi-level layer. Decoder SFU Spot FIFO Unit Providesline buffering between LBD and HCU HCU Halftoner Compositor Ditherscontone layer and Unit composites the bi-level spot and position tagdots. DNC Dead Nozzle Compensates for dead nozzles by Compensator colorredundancy and error diffusing dead nozzle data into surrounding dots.DWU Dotline Writer Unit Writes out dot data for a given printline to theline store DRAM LLU Line Loader Unit Reads the expanded page image fromline store, formatting the data appropriately for the bi-lithicprinthead. PHI PrintHead Interface Responsible for sending dot data tothe printhead and for providing line synchronization between multipleMoPECs. Also provides test interface to printhead such as temperaturemonitoring and Dead Nozzle Identification.

Software Dot Generation

Whilst speed and power consumption considerations make hardwareacceleration desirable, it is also possible for some, most or all of thefunctions performed by the MoPEC integrated circuit to be performed by ageneral purpose processor programmed with suitable software routines.Whilst power consumption will typically increase to obtain similarperformance with a general purpose processor (due to the higheroverheads associated with having a general purpose processor performhighly specialized tasks such as decompression and compositing), thissolution also has the advantage of easy customization and upgrading. Forexample, if a new or updated JPEG standard becomes widely used, it maybe desirable to simply update the decompression algorithm performed by ageneral purpose processor. The decision to move some or all of the MoPECintegrated circuit's functionality into software needs to be madecommercially on a case by case basis.

QA Chips

The preferred form of the invention does not use QA chips toauthenticate the cartridge when it is inserted. However, in alternativeembodiments, the print cartridge has a QA chip 82 that can beinterrogated by a master QA chip 80 installed in the mobile device (seeFIG. 6). QA chips in this context are designed to ensure the quality ofthe ink supply so the printhead nozzles will not be damaged duringprints, and the quality of the software to ensure printheads andmechanics are not damaged.

There are a number of ways that QA chips can be used with MoPEC. Forexample, each MoPEC can have an associated printer QA, which storesprinter attributes such as maximum print speed. An ink cartridge for usewith the system can also contain an ink QA chip, which stores cartridgeinformation such as the amount of ink remaining. The cartridge can alsohave a QA chip configured to act as a ROM (effectively as an EEPROM)that stores printhead-specific information such as dead nozzle mappingand printhead characteristics. The CPU in the MoPEC device canoptionally load and run program code from a QA Chip that effectivelyacts as a serial EEPROM. Finally, the CPU in the SoPEC device can run alogical QA chip (ie, a software QA chip).

Usually, all QA chips in the system are physically identical, with onlythe contents of flash memory differentiating one from the other.

Each MoPEC device has an LSS system bus that can communicate with QAdevices for system authentication and ink usage accounting. A largenumber of QA devices can be communicated with via the bus.

Data passed between the QA chips is authenticated by way of digitalsignatures. In the preferred embodiment, HMAC-SHA1 authentication isused for data, and RSA is used for program code, although other schemescould be used instead.

The QA chips preferably include some or all of the possible protectionsmechanisms that make the QA chip relatively difficult to attack. Many ofthese features are associated with the way in which secret information(in the form of bit-patterns) is stored in non-volatile memory of the QAchip (which in the preferred form is flash memory). Others deal withhard-coded limitations in the way software is loaded from flash memory.Yet others deal with the hard-coded manner in which data in certainregisters can be modified; for example, registers containing datarepresenting remaining ink levels in a reservoir can only bedecremented.

Any of a number of techniques can be used to make it more difficult forpotential hackers to extract key data (in the form of bit-patterns) fromnon-volatile memory. For example:

-   -   keys are stored in different places in memory across multiple        instances of the QA device (the software for each device being        customized with the knowledge of that location);    -   one or more of the keys are stored as a key/inverse-key pair in        the memory; and/or    -   a second key is stored indirectly in the non-volatile memory in        the form of a result of applying a function to the outcome of a        first function. The first function is applied to a first key        (which is stored in the non-volatile memory) and the outcome of        applying a one-way function to the second key. The by storing        the first key and result of the first function in the        non-volatile memory, the second key is stored only indirectly.        The one way function will usually be selected to be more        cryptographically secure than the first function.

Restrictions can be made on the way that communications are handled andprocessed. For example:

-   -   communications between the QA chip in the cartridge and the QA        chip in the mobile device can be made relatively secure through        the use of digital signatures (preferably using variant keys, as        described in various applications and patents cross-referenced        by assignee); and/or    -   signed messages between the QA chips can include, as part of the        payload, an indication of the type of instruction in the        payload;

There are also physical mechanisms protecting each QA chip. For example,an anti-tamper line formed in a layer of the integrated circuit causesresetting of the integrated circuit and/or erasure of memory contents inthe event it is tampered with. This prevents attempts to shave offcovering layers of semiconductor to access memory contents using variousscanning mechanisms.

Another feature is the use of relatively unique identities within arelated series of QA chips. For example, each QA chip, or at least eachQA used in a particular range of products, stores its own identity. Theidentity is relatively unique, which means that it is either completelyunique (i.e. it only ever appears on that one QA chip and is neverrepeated on another QA chip), or it is rare enough that it is highlyunlikely an attacker learning the key of one integrated circuit will beable to use it in compromising another randomly selected integratedcircuit.

All of these features are described in more detail in assignee'spublished patent application U.S. Ser. No. 10/754,536 (Docket No.PEA25US) filed on Jan. 12, 2004, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by cross-reference.

Piezoelectric Drive System

FIGS. 19 to 22 show a piezoelectric drive system 126 for driving printmedia past the printhead. As best shown in FIG. 21, the drive system 126includes a resonator 156 that includes a support end 158, a through hole160, a cantilever 162 and a spring 164. The support 158 is attached tothe spring 164, which in turn is attached to a mounting point 166 on thecradle 124. A piezoelectric element 168 is disposed within the throughhole 160, extending across the hole to link the support end 158 with thecantilever 162. The element 168 is positioned adjacent one end of thehole so that when it deforms, the cantilever 162 deflects from itsquiescent position by a minute amount.

A tip 170 of the cantilever 162 is urged into contact with a rim of adrive wheel 172 at an angle of about 50 degrees. In turn, the drivewheel 172 engages a rubber roller 176 at the end of the drive shaft 178.The drive shaft 178 engages and drives the print media past theprinthead (described below with reference to FIGS. 12 and 14).

Drive wires (not shown) are attached to opposite sides of thepiezoelectric element 168 to enable supply of a drive signal. Thespring, piezo and cantilever assembly is a structure with a set ofresonant frequencies. A drive signal excites the structure to one of theresonant modes of vibration and causes the tip of the cantilever 162 tomove in such a way that the drive wheel 172 rotates. In simple terms,when piezoelectric element expands, the tip 170 of the cantilever pushesinto firmer contact with the rim of the drive wheel. Because the rim andthe tip are relatively stiff, the moving tip causes slight rotation ofthe drive wheel in the direction shown. During the rest of the resonantoscillation, the tip 170 loses contact with the rim and withdrawsslightly back towards the starting position. The subsequent oscillationthen pushes the tip 170 down against the rim again, at a slightlydifferent point, to push the wheel through another small rotation. Theoscillatory motion of the tip 170 repeats in rapid succession and thedrive wheel is moved in a series of small angular displacements.However, as the resonant frequency is high (of the order of kHz), thewheel 172, for all intents and purposes, has a constant angularvelocity.

In the embodiment shown, a drive signal at about 85 kHz rotates thedrive wheel in the anti-clockwise direction (as shown in FIG. 21).

Although the amount of movement per cycle is relatively small (of theorder of a few micrometres), the high rate at which pulses are suppliedmeans that a linear movement (i.e. movement of the rim) of up to 300 mmper second can be achieved. A different mode of oscillation can becaused by increasing the drive signal frequency to 95 kHz, which causesthe drive wheel to rotate in the reverse direction. However, thepreferred embodiment does not take advantage of the reversibility of thepiezoelectric drive.

Precise details of the operation of the piezoelectric drive can beobtained from the manufacturer, Elliptec AG of Dortmund, Germany.

Motor Drive System

FIGS. 23 to 27 show other embodiments of the print cartridge 148 andcradle 124 with DC motor drive systems for feeding the medium 226 pastthe printhead 202. The print cartridge and cradle of FIG. 23 uses a 6 mmdiameter DC motor 242 with spur gears, while FIG. 24 shows an 8 mmdiameter DC motor and a range of spur gear drive systems. FIGS. 26 and27 also show 6 mm and 8 mm motors respectively, but use a worm gearsystem to power the drive wheel 172. These embodiments show that motorand gear drive systems offer a wider range of configurations and gearingratios to suit different devices, e.g. mobile phones, personal dataassistants etc.

Referring to FIG. 23, the longitudinal axis of the DC motor 242 isparallel with the longitudinal extent of the cartridge 148 and cradle124. Spade terminals 244 extend from one end of the motor for connectionto the battery power supply. At the other end of the motor 242 is aplanetary gearbox 246 with a 4:1 reduction. The output shaft of thegearbox is keyed to a drive gear 248. The drive gear is a spur gear thatmeshes with and drive an intermediate gear 250 on a stub axle mounted tothe cradle 124. In turn, the intermediate gear 250 drives the driveroller spur gear 252 that is mounted for fixed rotation with theelastomeric drive roller 172.

As described above in relation to the piezo drive embodiment, theelastomeric drive roller 172 engages the rubber roller at the end of thedrive shaft 178 in order to drive the medium 226 past the printhead.

In FIG. 24, the 8 mm diameter DC motor 254 is again parallel to thelength of the cradle 124, but powered by a magnetic encoder 256 with 1+8digital lines per revolution. This allows the print engine controller(PEC) to register the number of revolutions, and fractions ofrevolutions, of the motor 254. The PEC can use this to gauge theposition of the medium 226 relative to the printhead and adjust theoperation of the nozzles accordingly.

A planetary gearbox 246 is coupled to the output of the motor 254. A 15tooth drive gear 258 is keyed to the output shaft of the gearbox 246. Aswith the 6 mm diameter motor, the drive gear 258 drives the drive rollerspur gear 252 via the intermediate gear 250. This in turn powers themedia drive shaft 178 via the rubber roller 176 and the elastomericdrive roller 172.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 25 is the same as that shown in FIG. 24except the output shaft of the gearbox 246 has a 20 tooth drive gear260. By changing the gear ratios, the print speed (i.e. the speed of thedrive shaft 178) can be varied. This, in turn, affects the torque of thedrive shaft 178 and therefore the force with which the card 226 movesalong the media feed path.

Print Cartridge

The print cartridge 148 is best shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, and takes theform of an elongate, generally rectangular box. The cartridge is basedaround a moulded housing 180 that includes three elongate slots 182, 184and 186 configured to hold respective ink-bearing structures 188, 190,and 192. Each ink-bearing structure is typically a block of sponge-likematerial or laminated fibrous sheets. For example, these structures canbe foam, a fibre and perforated membrane laminate, a foam and perforatedmembrane laminate, a folded perforated membrane, or sponge wrapped inperforated membrane. The ink bearing structures 188, 190 and 192 containsubstantial void regions that contain ink, and are configured to preventthe ink moving around when the cartridge (or mobile telecommunicationsdevice in which it is installed) is shaken or otherwise moved. Theamount of ink in each reservoir is not critical, but a typical volumeper color would be of the order of 0.5 to 1.0 mL.

The porous material also has a capillary action that establishes anegative pressure at the in ejection nozzles (described in detailbelow). During periods of inactivity, the ink is retained in the nozzlechambers by the surface tension of the ink meniscus that forms acrossthe nozzle. If the meniscus bulges outwardly, it can ‘pin’ itself to thenozzle rim to hold the ink in the chamber. However, if it contacts paperdust or other contaminants on the nozzle rim, the meniscus can beunpinned from the rim and ink will leak out of the printhead through thenozzle.

To address this, many ink cartridges are designed so that thehydrostatic pressure of the ink in the chambers is less than atmosphericpressure. This causes the meniscus at the nozzles to be concave or drawninwards. This stops the meniscus from touching paper dust on the nozzlerim and removes the slightly positive pressure in the chamber that woulddrive the ink to leak out.

A housing lid 194 fits onto the top of the print cartridge to define inkreservoirs in conjunction with the ink slots 182, 184 and 186. The lidcan be glued, ultra-sonically welded, or otherwise form a seal with theupper edges of the ink slots to prevent the inks from moving betweenreservoirs or exiting the print cartridge. Ink holes 174 allow thereservoirs to be filled with ink during manufacture. Microchannel vents140 define tortuous paths along the lid 196 between the ink holes 174and the breather holes 154. These vents allow pressure equalisationwithin the reservoirs when the cartridge 148 is in use while thetortuous path prevents ink leakage when the mobile phone 100 is movedthrough different orientations. A label 196 covers the vents 140, andincludes a tear-off portion 198 that is removed before use to exposebreather holes 154 to vent the slots 182, 184 and 186 to atmosphere.

A series of outlets (not shown) in the bottom of each of the slots 182,184 and 186, lead to ink ducts 262 formed in the housing 180. The ductsare covered by a flexible sealing film 264 that directs ink to aprinthead IC 202. One edge of the printhead IC 202 is bonded to theconductors on a flexible TAB film 200. The bonds are covered andprotected by an encapsulant strip 204. Contacts 266 are formed on theTAB film 200 to enable power and data to be supplied to the printhead IC202 via the conductors on the TAB film. The printhead IC 202 is mountedto the underside of the housing 180 by the polymer sealing film 264. Thefilm is laser drilled so that ink in the ducts 262 can flow to theprinthead IC 202. The sealing and ink delivery aspects of the film asdiscussed in greater detail below.

A capper 206 is attached to the chassis 180 by way of slots 208 thatengage with corresponding moulded pins 210 on the housing. In its cappedposition, the capper 206 encloses and protects exposed ink in thenozzles (described below) of the printhead 202. A pair of co-mouldedelastomeric seals 240 on either side of the printhead IC 202 reduces itsexposure to dust and air that can cause drying and clogging of thenozzles.

A metal cover 224 snaps into place during assembly to cover the capper206 and hold it in position. The metal cover is generally U-shaped incross section, and includes entry and exit slots 214 and 152 to allowmedia to enter and leave the print cartridge. Tongues 216 at either endof the metal cover 224 includes holes 218 that engages withcomplementary moulded pawls 220 in the lid 194. A pair of capper leafsprings 238 are pressed from the bottom of the U-shape to bias thecapper 206 against the printhead 202. A tamper resistant label 222 isapplied to prevent casual interference with the print cartridge 148.

As discussed above, the media drive shaft 178 extends across the widthof the housing 180 and is retained for rotation by corresponding holes226 in the housing. The elastomeric drive wheel 176 is mounted to oneend of the drive shaft 178 for engagement with the linear drivemechanism 126 when the print cartridge 148 is inserted into the mobiletelecommunications device prior to use.

Alternative Print Cartridges

An alternative cartridge 290 is shown in FIGS. 30 to 36. This cartridgedesign shares a number of features with that shown in FIGS. 28 and 29,and corresponding components are designated with the same referencenumerals.

The primary difference of the alternative cartridge is that the negativepressure in the reservoirs 288 (see FIG. 33) is provided by biasing aflexible membrane wall towards increasing the ink storage volume. Asdiscussed above, the negative pressure is necessary to guard against inkleakage from the nozzles. As best shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the negativepressure reservoirs 288 are arranged in a series across the print widthof the cartridge 290. A preformed membrane 294 is attached tocorresponding formations 294 in housing 180 to define the threereservoirs 288. The membrane 292 includes apertures 296 communicatingwith the respective reservoirs, each aperture 296 being fitted with aclosed cell neoprene or self-sealing silicon bung 298. To fill thereservoirs, a hollow needle (not shown) penetrates the bung 298 toinject the ink. When the needle is withdrawn, the bung 298 reseals thereservoir. It may be desirable to introduce two needles for refilling,one of the needles being used to allow air from within the reservoir toexit as it is replaced by ink.

Referring to FIGS. 34, 35 and 36, each bung 298 includes a cap formation300 that sits proud of the corresponding reservoir 288, to engage aspring 302 that extends across the print width of the cartridge. In theembodiment shown, the spring 302 includes collars 304 spaced along itslength for engaging the respective formations 300, and serpentineportions 306 each side of the respective apertures 304 to provideresilience. At each end of the spring 302, a portion is bent to form ashort finger 308 that engages a complementary notch 310 formed in thehousing 180.

A lid 194 encloses the membrane 292 and includes spring supports 312 forlocating and supporting corresponding sections of the spring 302.Apertures 314 in the lid expose the cap formations 300 for filling.

The ink distribution system is different in the alternative cartridgebecause of the different way the reservoirs 288 are set out with respectto the print width. In particular, the alternative cartridge includestwo ink distribution layers that distribute the inks from the respectivereservoirs along the print width of the cartridge and to the respectiverows of print nozzles. As best shown in FIG. 35, each of the reservoirshave two ink outlets 316. The ink outlets 316 feed ink to inkdistribution channels 324 in bottom of the housing 180. There are threechannels 324; one for the cyan, magenta and yellow ink respectively.Each channel 324 extends the length of the printhead IC 202 as thedifferent color in each reservoir 288 needs to be delivered across theentire printing width. The distribution channels 324 are overlaid by anink duct film layer 318. This layer 318 has holes in its top surfaceconnecting a series of ducts 320 in its lower surface. The ducts 320 aresealed by the sealing film 264. Laser drilled holes 322 through thesealing film direct the ink from the ducts to the reverse side of theprinthead IC 202.

Another cartridge design is shown in FIGS. 37 to 39. This cartridge isvery similar to that shown FIGS. 28 and 29 with the main differencesresiding in the ink retaining structures 188, 190 and 192. The inkretaining structures are compressed foam divided into sections bypartial cuts 368 extending the majority of the way through the thicknessof the structures. Ink baffles 366 depend from the underside of thecartridge lid 194 and slot into the partial cuts 368 to provide solidbarriers between adjacent sections of the ink retaining structures 188,190 and 192.

The baffles 366 resist the ink pooling at one end of the cartridge if ithappens to be held in a substantially vertical orientation for extendedperiods of time. If the ink pools at one end of the cartridge, the otherend can prematurely run out of ink during use. While there is still somecommunication between adjacent sections (the cross section below each ofthe partial cuts 368), the capillary action of the porous structures andthe relatively small area of the communicating section retards the inkdraining to the lower end. The rate that the ink drains to the lower endis at least slow enough to keep ink in all sections of the ink retainingstructure in the cartridge is left in an upright orientation over night.

Completely sealing adjacent sections from each other reduces the amountof ink that is used before the cartridge needs to be replaced. Withoutany ink flow between adjacent sections, one color will deplete from oneof the sections before the others because ink usage along the length ofthe printhead IC 202 is rarely uniform. To assist the ink from onesection to flow to the nozzles fed by a depleted section, a wick 364 atthe bottom of each of the slots 182, 184 and 186 keeps ink over the inkoutlets (not shown) in the housing 180. The outlets communicate with aseries of ink delivery ducts formed in the underside of the housing 180.As best shown in FIG. 39, the ink delivery ducts 262 direct the ink to acentral ink delivery section 370 where it can be fed to the back of theprinthead IC 202. Between each of the ink delivery ducts 262 lead areink balance ducts 372. The balance ducts 372 put each of the ink outletsin fluid communication with its adjacent outlets. Depletion of ink inone section is addressed by drawing ink from adjacent sections throughthe balance ducts 372. The ducts 262 and 372 must be small enough so asto always retain ink regardless of whether the cartridge is in anupright orientation.

The ducts 262 and 372 are sealed by a flexible sealing film 264 adheredto the underside of the housing 180. The printhead IC 202 is adhered tothe other side of the sealing film 264. The printhead IC 202 has inkinlets for its nozzles (described below) on its reverse side (the sideadhered to the film 264). The printhead IC 202 is adhered to the film264 so that its inlets are in registration with an array of laserdrilled holes in the film. The laser drilled holes connect the printheadIC 202 ink inlets with the ink deliver points spaced along the inkdelivery section 370 of the housing 180. The sealing and ink deliveryaspects of the film as discussed in greater detail below.

One edge of the printhead IC 202 is bonded to the conductors on aflexible TAB film 200. The bonds are covered and protected by anencapsulant strip 204. Contacts 266 are formed on the TAB film 200 tosupply power to the printhead IC 202 via the power/ground contacts 382(c.f. the power/data connector 330 in other cartridges).

Printhead Mechanical

In the preferred form, a Memjet printer includes a monolithic pagewidthprinthead. The printhead is a three-color 1600 dpi monolithic chip withan active print length of 2.165″ (55.0 mm). The printhead chip is about800 microns wide and about 200 microns thick.

Power and ground are supplied to the printhead chip via two copperbusbars approximately 200 microns thick, which are electricallyconnected to contact points along the chip with conductive adhesive. Oneend of the chip has several data pads that are wire bonded or ballbonded out to a small flex PCB and then encapsulated, as described inmore detail elsewhere.

In alternative embodiments, the printhead can be constructed using twoor more printhead chips, as described in relation to the SoPEC-basedbilithic printhead arrangement described U.S. Ser. No. 10/754,536(Docket No. PEA25US) filed on Jan. 12, 2004, the contents of which areincorporated herein by cross-reference. In yet other embodiments, theprinthead can be formed from one or more monolithic printheadscomprising linking printhead modules as described U.S. Ser. No.10/754,536 (Docket No. PEA25US) filed on Jan. 12, 2004, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by cross-reference.

In the preferred form, the printhead is designed to at least partiallyself-destruct in some way to prevent unauthorized refilling with inkthat might be of questionable quality. Self-destruction can be performedin any suitable way, but the preferred mechanism is to include at leastone fusible link within the printhead that is selectively blown when itis determined that the ink has been consumed or a predetermined numberof prints has been performed.

Alternatively or additionally, the printhead can be designed to enableat least partial re-use of some or all of its components as part of aremanufacturing process.

Fusible links on the printhead integrated circuit (or on a separateintegrated circuit in the cartridge) can also be used to store otherinformation that the manufacturer would prefer not to be modified byend-users. A good example of such information is ink-remaining data. Bytracking ink usage and selectively blowing fusible links, the cartridgecan maintain an unalterable record of ink usage. For example, tenfusible links can be provided, with one of the fusible links being blowneach time it is determined that a further 10% of the total remaining inkhas been used. A set of links can be provided for each ink or for theinks in aggregate. Alternatively or additionally, a fusible link can beblown in response to a predetermined number of prints being performed.

Fusible links can also be provided in the cartridge and selectivelyblown during or after manufacture of the cartridge to encode anidentifier (unique, relatively unique, or otherwise) in the cartridge.

The fusible links can be associated with one or more shift registerelements in the same way as data is loaded for printing (as described inmore detail below). Indeed, the required shift register elements canform part of the same chain of register elements that are loaded withdot data for printing. In this way, the MoPEC chip is able to controlblowing of fusible links simply by changing data that is inserted intothe stream of data loaded during printing. Alternatively oradditionally, the data for blowing one or more fusible links can beloaded during a separate operation to dot-data loading (ie, dot data isloaded as all zeros). Yet another alternative is for the fusible linksto be provided with their own shift register which is loadedindependently of the dot data shift register.

FIGS. 40 and 41 show basic circuit diagrams of a 10-fuse link and asingle fuse cell respectively. FIG. 40 shows a shift register 373 thatcan be loaded with values to be programmed into the 1-bit fuse cells375, 377 and 379. Each shift register latch 381, 383 and 385 connects toa 1-bit fuse cell respectively, providing the program value to itscorresponding cell. The fuses are programmed by setting the fuse programenable signal 387 to 1. The fuse cell values 391, 393 and 395 are loadedinto a 10-bit register 389. This value 389 can be accessed by theprinthead IC control logic, for example to inhibit printing when thefuse value is all ones. Alternatively or additionally, the value 397 canbe read serially by MoPEC, to see the state of the fuses 375, 377 and379 after MoPEC is powered up.

A possible fuse cell 375 is shown in FIG. 41. Before being blown, thefuse element structure itself has a electrical resistance 405, which issubstantially lower than the value of the pullup resistor 407. Thispulls down the node A, which is buffered to provide the fuse_valueoutput 391, initially a zero. A fuse is blown when fuse_program_enable387 and fuse_program_value 399 are both 1. This causes the PFET 409connecting node A to Vpos is turn on, and current flows that causes thefuse element to go open circuit, i.e. resistor 405 becomes infinite. Nowthe fuse_value output 391 will read back as a one.

Sealing the Printhead

As briefly mentioned above, the printhead IC 202 is mounted to theunderside of the housing 180 by the polymer sealing film 264 (see FIG.29). This film may be a thermoplastic film such as a PET or Polysulphonefilm, or it may be in the form of a thermoset film, such as thosemanufactured by AL technologies and Rogers Corporation. The polymersealing film 264 is a laminate with adhesive layers on both sides of acentral film, and laminated onto the underside of the moulded housing180. A plurality of holes (not shown) are laser drilled through thesealing film 264 to coincide with ink delivery points in the ink ducts262 (or in the case of the alternative cartridge, the ink ducts 320 inthe film layer 318) so that the printhead IC 202 is in fluidcommunication with the ink ducts 262 and therefore the ink retainingstructures 188, 190 and 192.

The thickness of the polymer sealing film 264 is critical to theeffectiveness of the ink seal it provides. The film seals the ink ducts262 on the housing 180 (or the ink ducts 320 in the film layer 318) aswell as the ink conduits (not shown) on the reverse side of theprinthead IC 202. However, as the film 264 seals across the ducts 262,it can also bulge into one of conduits on the reverse side of theprinthead IC 202. The section of film bulging into the conduit, may runacross several of the ink ducts 262 in the printhead IC 202. The saggingmay cause a gap that breaches the seal and allows ink to leak from theprinthead IC 202 and or between the conduits on its reverse side.

To guard against this, the polymer sealing film 264 should be thickenough to account for any bulging into the ink ducts 262 (or the inkducts 320 in the film layer 318) while maintaining the seal on the backof the printhead IC 202. The minimum thickness of the polymer sealingfilm 264 will depend on:

-   -   the width of the conduit into which it sags;    -   the thickness of the adhesive layers in the film's laminate        structure;    -   the ‘stiffness’ of the adhesive layer as the printhead IC 202 is        being pushed into it; and,    -   the modulus of the central film material of the laminate.

A polymer sealing film 264 thickness of 25 microns is adequate for theprinthead IC and cartridge assembly shown. However, increasing thethickness to 50, 100 or even 200 microns will correspondingly increasethe reliability of the seal provided.

Printhead CMOS

Turning now to FIGS. 42 to 47, a preferred embodiment of the printhead420 (comprising printhead IC 425) will be described.

FIG. 42 shows an overview of printhead IC 425 and its connections to theMoPEC device 166. Printhead IC 425 includes a nozzle core array 401containing the repeated logic to fire each nozzle, and nozzle controllogic 402 to generate the timing signals to fire the nozzles. The nozzlecontrol logic 402 receives data from the MoPEC chip 166 via a high-speedlink. In the preferred form, a single MoPEC chip 166 feeds the twoprinthead ICs 425 and 426 with print data.

The nozzle control logic is configured to send serial data to the nozzlearray core for printing, via a link 407, which for printhead 425 is theelectrical connector 428. Status and other operational information aboutthe nozzle array core 401 is communicated back to the nozzle controllogic via another link 408, which is also provided on the electricalconnector 428.

The nozzle array core 401 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 43 and 44. InFIG. 43, it will be seen that the nozzle array core comprises an arrayof nozzle columns 501. The array includes a fire/select shift register502 and three color channels, each of which is represented by acorresponding dot shift register 503.

As shown in FIG. 44, the fire/select shift register 502 includes aforward path fire shift register 600, a reverse path fire shift register601 and a select shift register 602. Each dot shift register 503includes an odd dot shift register 603 and an even dot shift register604. The odd and even dot shift registers 603 and 604 are connected atone end such that data is clocked through the odd shift register 603 inone direction, then through the even shift register 604 in the reversedirection. The output of all but the final even dot shift register isfed to one input of a multiplexer 605. This input of the multiplexer isselected by a signal (corescan) during post-production testing. Innormal operation, the corescan signal selects dot data input Dot[x]supplied to the other input of the multiplexer 605. This causes Dot[x]for each color to be supplied to the respective dot shift registers 503.

A single column N will now be described with reference to FIG. 44. Inthe embodiment shown, the column N includes six data values, comprisingan odd data value held by an element 606 of the odd shift register 603,and an even data value held by an element 607 of the even shift register604, for each of the three dot shift registers 503. Column N alsoincludes an odd fire value 608 from the forward fire shift register 600and an even fire value 609 from the reverse fire shift register 601,which are supplied as inputs to a multiplexer 610. The output of themultiplexer 610 is controlled by the select value 611 in the selectshift register 602. When the select value is zero, the odd fire value isoutput, and when the select value is one, the even fire value is output.

The values from the shift register elements 606 and 607 are provided asinputs to respective odd and even dot latches 612 and 613 respectively.

Each of dot latch 612 and 613 and their respective associated shiftregister elements form a unit cell 614, which is shown in more detail inFIG. 45. The dot latch 612 is a D-type flip-flop that accepts the outputof the shift register element 606. The data input d to the shiftregister element 606 is provided from the output of a previous elementin the odd dot shift register (unless the element under consideration isthe first element in the shift register, in which case its input is theDot[x] value). Data is clocked from the output of flip-flop 606 intolatch 612 upon receipt of a negative pulse provided on LsyncL.

The output of latch 612 is provided as one of the inputs to athree-input AND gate 65. Other inputs to the AND gate 615 are the Frsignal (from the output of multiplexer 610) and a pulse profile signalPr. The firing time of a nozzle is controlled by the pulse profilesignal Pr, and can be, for example, lengthened to take into account alow voltage condition that arises due to low battery (in abattery-powered embodiment). This is to ensure that a relativelyconsistent amount of ink is efficiently ejected from each nozzle as itis fired. In the embodiment described, the profile signal Pr is the samefor each dot shift register, which provides a balance betweencomplexity, cost and performance. However, in other embodiments, the Prsignal can be applied globally (ie, is the same for all nozzles), or canbe individually tailored to each unit cell or even to each nozzle.

Once the data is loaded into the latch 612, the fire enable Fr and pulseprofile Pr signals are applied to the AND gate 615, combining to thetrigger the nozzle to eject a dot of ink for each latch 612 thatcontains a logic 1.

The signals for each nozzle channel are summarized in the followingtable:

Name Direction Description d Input Input dot pattern to shift registerbit q Output Output dot pattern from shift register bit SrClk InputShift register clock in - d is captured on rising edge of this clockLsyncL Input Fire enable - needs to be asserted for nozzle to fire PrInput Profile - needs to be asserted for nozzle to fire

As shown in FIG. 45, the fire signals Fr are routed on a diagonal, toenable firing of one color in the current column, the next color in thefollowing column, and so on. This averages the current demand byspreading it over the three nozzle columns in time-delayed fashion.

The dot latches and the latches forming the various shift registers arefully static in this embodiment, and are CMOS-based. The design andconstruction of latches is well known to those skilled in the art ofintegrated circuit engineering and design, and so will not be describedin detail in this document.

The combined printhead ICs define a printhead having 13824 nozzles percolor. The circuitry supporting each nozzle is the same, but the pairingof nozzles happens due to physical positioning of the MEMS nozzles; oddand even nozzles are not actually on the same horizontal line, as shownin FIG. 46.

Nozzle Design—Mechanical Actuator

A preferred nozzle design (comprising nozzle and corresponding actuator)for use in the printhead chip 216 will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 21.1-46 to 21.1-55. FIG. 47 shows an array of the nozzles 801formed on a silicon substrate 8015. All the nozzles 810 in the printheadchip 216 are the same as each other, but are grouped together into rows,each row being fed a particular ink color. It will be appreciated thatthe particular number/resolution of the nozzles, the number of rows ofthe nozzles, their position and offset relative to each other, and thespecific combination of inks and fixatives output by a particularcartridge will vary from embodiment to embodiment.

It will be noted that in the embodiment illustrated, rows of the nozzles801 are staggered with respect to each other, allowing closer spacing ofink dots during printing than would be possible with a single row ofnozzles.

Each nozzle arrangement 801 is the product of an integrated circuitfabrication technique. In particular, the nozzle arrangement 801 definesa micro-electromechanical system (MEMS).

For clarity and ease of description, the construction and operation of asingle nozzle arrangement 801 will be described with reference to FIGS.48 to 57.

The ink jet printhead chip 12 includes a silicon wafer substrate 801.0.35 Micron 1 P4M 12 volt CMOS microprocessing circuitry is positionedon the silicon wafer substrate 8015.

A silicon dioxide (or alternatively glass) layer 8017 is positioned onthe wafer substrate 8015. The silicon dioxide layer 8017 defines CMOSdielectric layers. CMOS top-level metal defines a pair of alignedaluminium electrode contact layers 8030 positioned on the silicondioxide layer 8017. Both the silicon wafer substrate 8015 and thesilicon dioxide layer 8017 are etched to define an ink inlet channel8014 having a generally circular cross section (in plan). An aluminiumdiffusion barrier 8028 of CMOS metal 1, CMOS metal 2/3 and CMOS toplevel metal is positioned in the silicon dioxide layer 8017 about theink inlet channel 8014. The diffusion barrier 8028 serves to inhibit thediffusion of hydroxyl ions through CMOS oxide layers of the drivecircuitry layer 8017.

A passivation layer in the form of a layer of silicon nitride 8031 ispositioned over the aluminium contact layers 8030 and the silicondioxide layer 8017. Each portion of the passivation layer 8031positioned over the contact layers 8030 has an opening 8032 definedtherein to provide access to the contacts 8030.

The nozzle arrangement 801 includes a nozzle chamber 8029 defined by anannular nozzle wall 8033, which terminates at an upper end in a nozzleroof 8034 and a radially inner nozzle rim 804 that is circular in plan.The ink inlet channel 8014 is in fluid communication with the nozzlechamber 8029. At a lower end of the nozzle wall, there is disposed amoving rim 8010, that includes a moving seal lip 8040. An encirclingwall 8038 surrounds the movable nozzle, and includes a stationary seallip 8039 that, when the nozzle is at rest as shown in FIG. 50, isadjacent the moving rim 8010. A fluidic seal 8011 is formed due to thesurface tension of ink trapped between the stationary seal lip 8039 andthe moving seal lip 8040. This prevents leakage of ink from the chamberwhilst providing a low resistance coupling between the encircling wall8038 and the nozzle wall 8033.

As best shown in FIG. 57, a plurality of radially extending recesses8035 is defined in the roof 8034 about the nozzle rim 804. The recesses8035 serve to contain radial ink flow as a result of ink escaping pastthe nozzle rim 804.

The nozzle wall 8033 forms part of a lever arrangement that is mountedto a carrier 8036 having a generally U-shaped profile with a base 8037attached to the layer 8031 of silicon nitride.

The lever arrangement also includes a lever arm 8018 that extends fromthe nozzle walls and incorporates a lateral stiffening beam 8022. Thelever arm 8018 is attached to a pair of passive beams 806, formed fromtitanium nitride (TiN) and positioned on either side of the nozzlearrangement, as best shown in FIGS. 50 and 51. The other ends of thepassive beams 806 are attached to the carrier 8036.

The lever arm 8018 is also attached to an actuator beam 807, which isformed from TiN. It will be noted that this attachment to the actuatorbeam is made at a point a small but critical distance higher than theattachments to the passive beam 806.

As best shown in FIGS. 51 and 56, the actuator beam 807 is substantiallyU-shaped in plan, defining a current path between the electrode 809 andan opposite electrode 8041. Each of the electrodes 809 and 8041 areelectrically connected to respective points in the contact layer 8030.As well as being electrically coupled via the contacts 809, the actuatorbeam is also mechanically anchored to anchor 808. The anchor 808 isconfigured to constrain motion of the actuator beam 807 to the left ofFIGS. 21.1-52 to 54 when the nozzle arrangement is in operation.

The TiN in the actuator beam 807 is conductive, but has a high enoughelectrical resistance that it undergoes self-heating when a current ispassed between the electrodes 809 and 8041. No current flows through thepassive beams 806, so they do not expand.

In use, the device at rest is filled with ink 8013 that defines ameniscus 803 under the influence of surface tension. The ink is retainedin the chamber 8029 by the meniscus, and will not generally leak out inthe absence of some other physical influence.

As shown in FIG. 50, to fire ink from the nozzle, a current is passedbetween the contacts 809 and 8041, passing through the actuator beam807. The self-heating of the beam 807 due to its resistance causes thebeam to expand. The dimensions and design of the actuator beam 807 meanthat the majority of the expansion is in a horizontal direction withrespect to FIGS. 50 to 53. The expansion is constrained to the left bythe anchor 808, so the end of the actuator beam 807 adjacent the leverarm 8018 is impelled to the right.

The relative horizontal inflexibility of the passive beams 806 preventsthem from allowing much horizontal movement the lever arm 8018. However,the relative displacement of the attachment points of the passive beamsand actuator beam respectively to the lever arm causes a twistingmovement that causes the lever arm 8018 to move generally downwards. Themovement is effectively a pivoting or hinging motion. However, theabsence of a true pivot point means that the rotation is about a pivotregion defined by bending of the passive beams 806.

The downward movement (and slight rotation) of the lever arm 8018 isamplified by the distance of the nozzle wall 8033 from the passive beams806. The downward movement of the nozzle walls and roof causes apressure increase within the chamber 29, causing the meniscus to bulgeas shown in FIG. 49. It will be noted that the surface tension of theink means the fluid seal 11 is stretched by this motion without allowingink to leak out.

As shown in FIG. 50, at the appropriate time, the drive current isstopped and the actuator beam 807 quickly cools and contracts. Thecontraction causes the lever arm to commence its return to the quiescentposition, which in turn causes a reduction in pressure in the chamber8029. The interplay of the momentum of the bulging ink and its inherentsurface tension, and the negative pressure caused by the upward movementof the nozzle chamber 8029 causes thinning, and ultimately snapping, ofthe bulging meniscus to define an ink drop 802 that continues upwardsuntil it contacts an adjacent print medium.

Immediately after the drop 802 detaches, the meniscus forms the concaveshape shown in FIG. 50. Surface tension causes the pressure in thechamber 8029 to remain relatively low until ink has been sucked upwardsthrough the inlet 8014, which returns the nozzle arrangement and the inkto the quiescent situation shown in FIG. 50.

As best shown in FIG. 52, the nozzle arrangement also incorporates atest mechanism that can be used both post-manufacture and periodicallyafter the printhead is installed. The test mechanism includes a pair ofcontacts 8020 that are connected to test circuitry (not shown). Abridging contact 8019 is provided on a finger 8043 that extends from thelever arm 8018. Because the bridging contact 8019 is on the oppositeside of the passive beams 806, actuation of the nozzle causes thepriding contact to move upwardly, into contact with the contacts 8020.Test circuitry can be used to confirm that actuation causes this closingof the circuit formed by the contacts 8019 and 8020. If the circuitclosed appropriately, it can generally be assumed that the nozzle isoperative.

Nozzle Design—Thermal Actuator

An alternative nozzle design utilises a thermal inkjet mechanism forexpelling ink from each nozzle. The thermal nozzles are set outsimilarly to their mechanical equivalents, and are supplied by similarcontrol signals by similar CMOS circuitry, albeit with different pulseprofiles if required by any differences in drive characteristics need tobe accounted for.

With reference to FIGS. 58 to 62, the nozzle of a printhead according toan embodiment of the invention comprises a nozzle plate 902 with nozzles903 therein, the nozzles having nozzle rims 904, and apertures 905extending through the nozzle plate. The nozzle plate 902 is plasmaetched from a silicon nitride structure which is deposited, by way ofchemical vapor deposition (CVD), over a sacrificial material which issubsequently etched.

The printhead also includes, with respect to each nozzle 903, side walls906 on which the nozzle plate is supported, a chamber 907 defined by thewalls and the nozzle plate 902, a multi-layer substrate 908 and an inletpassage 909 extending through the multi-layer substrate to the far side(not shown) of the substrate. A looped, elongate heater element 910 issuspended within the chamber 907, so that the element is in the form ofa suspended beam. The printhead as shown is a microelectromechanicalsystem (MEMS) structure, which is formed by a lithographic process whichis described in more detail below.

When the printhead is in use, ink 911 from a reservoir (not shown)enters the chamber 907 via the inlet passage 909, so that the chamberfills to the level as shown in FIG. 58. Thereafter, the heater element910 is heated for somewhat less than 1 micro second, so that the heatingis in the form of a thermal pulse. It will be appreciated that theheater element 910 is in thermal contact with the ink 911 in the chamber907 so that when the element is heated, this causes the generation ofvapor bubbles 912 in the ink. Accordingly, the ink 911 constitutes abubble forming liquid. FIG. 58 shows the formation of a bubble 912approximately 1 microsecond after generation of the thermal pulse, thatis, when the bubble has just nucleated on the heater elements 910. Itwill be appreciated that, as the heat is applied in the form of a pulse,all the energy necessary to generate the bubble 12 is to be suppliedwithin that short time.

In operation, voltage is applied across electrodes (not shown) to causecurrent to flow through the elements 910. The electrodes 915 are muchthicker than the element 910 so that most of the electrical resistanceis provided by the element. Thus, nearly all of the power consumed inoperating the heater 914 is dissipated via the element 910, in creatingthe thermal pulse referred to above.

When the element 910 is heated as described above, the bubble 912 formsalong the length of the element, this bubble appearing, in thecross-sectional view of FIG. 58, as four bubble portions, one for eachof the element portions shown in cross section.

The bubble 912, once generated, causes an increase in pressure withinthe chamber 97, which in turn causes the ejection of a drop 916 of theink 911 through the nozzle 903. The rim 904 assists in directing thedrop 916 as it is ejected, so as to minimize the chance of dropmisdirection.

The reason that there is only one nozzle 903 and chamber 907 per inletpassage 909 is so that the pressure wave generated within the chamber,on heating of the element 910 and forming of a bubble 912, does notaffect adjacent chambers and their corresponding nozzles.

The advantages of the heater element 910 being suspended rather thanbeing embedded in any solid material, is discussed below.

FIGS. 59 and 60 show the unit cell 901 at two successive later stages ofoperation of the printhead. It can be seen that the bubble 912 generatesfurther, and hence grows, with the resultant advancement of ink 911through the nozzle 903. The shape of the bubble 912 as it grows, asshown in FIG. 60, is determined by a combination of the inertialdynamics and the surface tension of the ink 911. The surface tensiontends to minimize the surface area of the bubble 912 so that, by thetime a certain amount of liquid has evaporated, the bubble isessentially disk-shaped.

The increase in pressure within the chamber 907 not only pushes ink 911out through the nozzle 903, but also pushes some ink back through theinlet passage 909. However, the inlet passage 909 is approximately 200to 300 microns in length, and is only approximately 16 microns indiameter. Hence there is a substantial viscous drag. As a result, thepredominant effect of the pressure rise in the chamber 907 is to forceink out through the nozzle 903 as an ejected drop 916, rather than backthrough the inlet passage 909.

Turning now to FIG. 61, the printhead is shown at a still furthersuccessive stage of operation, in which the ink drop 916 that is beingejected is shown during its “necking phase” before the drop breaks off.At this stage, the bubble 912 has already reached its maximum size andhas then begun to collapse towards the point of collapse 917, asreflected in more detail in FIG. 62.

The collapsing of the bubble 912 towards the point of collapse 917causes some ink 911 to be drawn from within the nozzle 903 (from thesides 918 of the drop), and some to be drawn from the inlet passage 909,towards the point of collapse. Most of the ink 911 drawn in this manneris drawn from the nozzle 903, forming an annular neck 919 at the base ofthe drop 916 prior to its breaking off.

The drop 916 requires a certain amount of momentum to overcome surfacetension forces, in order to break off. As ink 911 is drawn from thenozzle 903 by the collapse of the bubble 912, the diameter of the neck919 reduces thereby reducing the amount of total surface tension holdingthe drop, so that the momentum of the drop as it is ejected out of thenozzle is sufficient to allow the drop to break off.

When the drop 916 breaks off, cavitation forces are caused as reflectedby the arrows 920, as the bubble 912 collapses to the point of collapse917. It will be noted that there are no solid surfaces in the vicinityof the point of collapse 917 on which the cavitation can have an effect.

Cradle

The various cartridges described above are used in the same way, sincethe mobile device itself cannot tell which ink supply system is in use.Hence, the cradle will be described with reference to the cartridge 148only.

Referring to FIG. 63, the cartridge 148 is inserted axially into themobile phone 100 via the access cover 282 and into engagement with thecradle 124. As previously shown in FIGS. 19 and 21, the cradle 124 is anelongate U-shaped moulding defining a channel that is dimensioned toclosely correspond to the dimensions of the print cartridge 148.Referring now to FIG. 64, the cartridge 148 slides along the rail 328upon insertion into the mobile phone 100. The edge of the lid moulding194 fits under the rail 328 for positional tolerance control. As shownin FIGS. 19 to 21 the contacts 266 on the cartridge TAB film 200 areurged against the data/power connector 330 in the cradle. The other sideof the data/power connector 330 contacts the cradle flex PCB 332. ThisPCB connects the cartridge and the MoPEC chip to the power and the hostelectronics (not shown) of the mobile phone, to provide power and dotdata to the printhead to enable it to print. The interaction between theMoPEC chip and the host electronics of the mobile telecommunicationsdevice is described in the Netpage and Mobile Telecommunications DeviceOverview section above.

Media Feed

FIGS. 12 to 14 show the medium being fed through the mobiletelecommunications device and printed by the printhead. FIG. 12 showsthe blank medium 226, in this case a card, being fed into the left sideof the mobile phone 100. FIG. 13 is section view taken along A-A of FIG.12. It shows the card 226 entering the mobile telecommunications devicethrough a card insertion slot 228 and into the media feed path leadingto the print cartridge 148 and print cradle 124. The rear cover moulding106 has guide ribs that taper the width of the media feed path into aduct slightly thicker than the card 226. In FIG. 13 the card 226 has notyet entered the print cartridge 148 through the slot 214 in the metalcover 224. The metal cover 224 has a series of spring fingers 230(described in more detail below) formed along one edge of the entry slot214. These fingers 230 are biased against the drive shaft 178 so thatwhen the card 226 enters the slot 214, as shown in FIG. 14, the fingersguide it to the drive shaft 178. The nip between the drive shaft 178 andthe fingers 230 engages the card 226 and it is quickly drawn betweenthem. The fingers 230 press the card 226 against the drive shaft 178 todrive it past the printhead 202 by friction. The drive shaft 178 has arubber coating to enhance its grip on the medium 226. Media feed duringprinting is described in a later section.

It is preferred that the drive mechanism be selected to print the printmedium in about 2 to 4 seconds. Faster speeds require relatively higherdrive currents and impose restrictions on peak battery output, whilstslower speeds may be unacceptable to consumers. However, faster orslower speeds can certainly be catered for where there is commercialdemand.

Decapping

The decapping of the printhead 202 is shown in FIGS. 65 to 74. FIG. 65shows print cartridge 148 immediately before the card 226 is fed intothe entry slot 214. The capper 206 is biased into the capped position bythe capper leaf springs 238. The capper's elastomeric seal 240 protectsthe printhead from paper dust and other contaminants while also stoppingthe ink in the nozzles from drying out when the printhead is not in use.

Referring to FIGS. 65 and 68, the card 226 has been fed into the printcartridge 148 via the entry slot 214. The spring fingers 230 urge thecard against the drive shaft 178 as it driven past the printhead.Immediately downstream of the drive shaft 178, the leading edge of thecard 226 engages the inclined front surface of the capper 206 and pushesit to the uncapped position against the bias of the capper leaf springs238. The movement of the capper is initially rotational, as the linearmovement of the card causes the capper 206 to rotate about the pins 210that sit in its slots 208 (see FIG. 29). However, as shown in FIGS. 69to 71, the capper is constrained such that further movement of the cardbegins to cause linear movement of the capper directly down and awayfrom the printhead chip 202, against the biasing action of spring 238.Ejection of ink from the printhead IC 202 onto the card commences as theleading edge of the card reaches the printhead.

As best shown in FIG. 71, the card 226 continues along the media pathuntil it engages the capper lock actuating arms 232. This actuates thecapper lock to hold the capper in the uncapped position until printingis complete. This is described in greater detail below.

Capping

As shown in FIGS. 72 to 74, the capper remains in the uncapped positionuntil the card 226 disengages from the actuation arms 232. At this pointthe capper 206 is unlocked and returns to its capped position by theleaf spring 230.

Capper Locking and Unlocking

Referring to FIGS. 75 to 79, the card 226 slides over the elastomericseal 240 as it is driven past the printhead 202. The leading edge of thecard 226 then engages the pair of capper locking mechanisms 212 ateither side of the media feed path. The capper locking mechanisms 212are rotated by the card 226 so that its latch surfaces 234 engage lockengagement faces 236 of the capper 206 to hold it in the uncappedposition until the card is removed from the print cartridge 148.

FIGS. 75 and 78 show the locking mechanisms 212 in their unlockedcondition and the capper 206 in the capped position. The actuation arms232 of each capper lock mechanism 212 protrude into the media path. Thesides of the capper 206 prevent the actuation arms from rotating out ofthe media feed path. Referring to FIGS. 76, 77A, 77B and 79, the leadingedge of the card 226 engages the arms 232 of the capper lock mechanisms212 protruding into the media path from either side. When the leadingedge has reached the actuation arms 232, the card 226 has already pushedthe capper 206 to the uncapped position so the locking mechanisms 212are now free to rotate. As the card pushes past the arms 232, the lockmechanisms 212 rotate such that their respective chamfered latchsurfaces 234 slidingly engage the angled lock engagement face 238 oneither side of the capper 206. The sliding engagement of between thesefaces pushes the capper 206 clear of the card 226 so that it no longertouches the elastomeric seals 240. This reduces the drag retarding themedia feed. The sides of the card 226 sliding against the actuation arms232 prevent the locking mechanisms 212 from rotating so the capper 206is locked in the uncapped position by the latch surfaces 234 pressingagainst the lock engagement face 238.

When the printed card 226 is retrieved by the user (described in moredetail below), the actuation arms 232 are released and free to rotate.The capper leaf springs 238 return the capper 206 to the cappedposition, and in so doing, the latch surfaces 234 slide over the lockengagement faces 236 so that the actuation arms 232 rotate back out intothe media feed path.

Alternative Capping Mechanism

An alternative capping mechanism is shown in FIGS. 81 to 84 in which theinitial retraction of the capper away from the printhead chip takesplace before the card is pinch between the roller and the springfingers. In this embodiment, the cartridge includes a crankshaft 272mounted parallel to the drive shaft. The crankshaft is connected to afirst crank 274 and a second crank 276, which are angularly spaced fromeach other.

As the card is inserted by the user and enters the cartridge, itsleading edge comes into contact with the first crank 274. Pushing thecard further into the cartridge causes the first crank 274 to convertthe card's linear motion into rotation of the crankshaft 272. This, inturn, causes the second crank 276 to pull the capper 206 arcuately awayfrom the printhead chip, as shown in FIGS. 81 to 84. By the time thecard is pinched between the drive shaft 178 and the spring fingers 230,the capper 206 is already retracted away from the printhead chip so asto allow the card complete freedom to move past the printhead.Preferably, the locking mechanism described in relation to the earliercapping mechanism is incorporated, to ensure the capper is keptretracted until the card clears the printhead chip.

It will be appreciated that the crankshaft 272 can be positioned furtheralong the card's feed path, to the point where some or all of therotation of the crankshaft takes place as a result of the drive shaftdriving the card. However, this has the effect of lengthening theoverall feed path and moving the drive shaft further from the outletslot, and so is not the preferred option.

Cartridge with Marking Nib

FIGS. 85 to 87 show a version of the cartridge/cradle assembly with amarking nib 384 extending from one end of the cartridge 148 and aNetpage optics module 350 is integrated into the cradle 124. As bestshown in FIG. 87, the marking nib 384 is a ball point pen with a coarsescrew thread 388 for engagement with the internal thread of twist knob382. The twist knob is retained on the tubular detail 386 on thecartridge lid 194 by snapping over the end flange. Rotating the twistknob 382 extends the nib 384 for use as a pen or retracts it to avoidinadvertently marking clothing and so on.

In this embodiment, the switch is simply omitted and the device operatescontinuously. To reduce power consumption, the optics module 350 and IRLED 344 only operates when placed into a capture mode. Alternatively,the switch can take the form of a pressure sensor, such as apiezo-electric or semiconductor-based transducer. In one form, amulti-level or continuous pressure sensor is utilized, which enablescapture of the actual force of the nib against the writing surfaceduring writing. This information can be included with the positioninformation and ID that comprises the digital ink generated by thedevice. However, this is an optional capability.

Optical Print Data Transmission

In this embodiment, shown in FIGS. 88 to 90, print data from the MoPECchip 326 is not sent to the printhead IC 202 by the TAB film 200 as itis in the other cartridge designs. Instead, the data is sent via aseparate flex film 374 to a data LED 376. As best shown in FIGS. 89 and90, the printhead IC 202 has been extended to accommodate a photosensor380 for receiving the data signal from the data LED 376. An aperture 378is cut into the metal cover 224 so that the data LED 376 can illuminatethe photosensor 380. Transmitting the print data separately from thepower removes a lot of noise from the data signal. Back EMF from themany and frequent actuations of each nozzle produces a high frequencynoise that can partially obscure the data signal. Furthermore, thenature of the print data signal is well suited to optical transmission.

Print Media and Printing

A Netpage printer normally prints the tags which make up the surfacecoding on demand, i.e. at the same time as it prints graphic pagecontent. As an alternative, in a Netpage printer not capable of printingtags such as the preferred embodiment, pre-tagged but otherwise blankNetpages can be used. The printer, instead of being capable of tagprinting, typically incorporates a Netpage tag sensor. The printersenses the tags and hence the region ID of a blank either prior to,during, or after the printing of the graphic page content onto theblank. It communicates the region ID to the Netpage server, and theserver associates the page content and the region ID in the usual way.

A particular Netpage surface coding scheme allocates a minimum number ofbits to the representation of spatial coordinates within a surfaceregion. If a particular media size is significantly smaller than themaximum size representable in the minimum number of bits, then theNetpage code space may be inefficiently utilised. It can therefore be ofinterest to allocate different sub-areas of a region to a collection ofblanks. Although this makes the associations maintained by the Netpageserver more complex, and makes subsequent routing of interactions morecomplex, it leads to more efficient code space utilisation. In the limitcase the surface coding may utilise a single region with a singlecoordinate space, i.e. without explicit region IDs.

If regions are sub-divided in this way, then the Netpage printer usesthe tag sensor to determine not only the region ID but also the surfacecoding location of a known physical position on the print medium, i.e.relative to two edges of the medium. From the surface coding locationand its corresponding physical position on the medium, and the known (ordetermined) size of the medium, it then determines the spatial extent ofthe medium in the region's coordinate space, and communicates both theregion ID and the spatial extent to the server. The server associatesthe page content with the specified sub-area of the region.

A number of mechanisms can be used to read tag data from a blank. Aconventional Netpage tag sensor incorporating a two-dimensional imagesensor can be used to capture an image of the tagged surface of theblank at any convenient point in the printer's paper path. As analternative, a linear image sensor can be used to capture successiveline images of the tagged surface of the blank during transport. Theline images can be used to create a two-dimensional image which isprocessed in the usual way. As a further alternative, region ID data andother salient data can be encoded linearly on the blank, and a simplephotodetector and ADC can be used to acquire samples of the linearencoding during transport.

One important advantage of using a two-dimensional image sensor is thattag sensing can occur before motorised transport of the print mediumcommences. I.e. if the print medium is manually inserted by the user,then tag sensing can occur during insertion. This has the furtheradvantage that if the tag data is validated by the device, then theprint medium can be rejected and possibly ejected before printingcommences. For example, the print medium may have been pre-printed withadvertising or other graphic content on the reverse side from theintended printing side. The device can use the tag data to detectincorrect media insertion, i.e. upside-down or back-to-front. The devicecan also prevent accidental overprinting of an already-printed medium.And it can detect the attempted use of an invalid print medium andrefuse printing, e.g. to protect print quality. The device can alsoderive print medium characteristics from the tag data, to allow it toperform optimal print preparation.

If a linear image sensor is used, or if a photodetector is used, thenimage sensing must occur during motorised transport of the print mediumto ensure accurate imaging. Unless there are at least two points ofcontact between the transport mechanism and the print medium in theprinting path, separated by a minimum distance equal to the tag dataacquisition distance, tag data cannot be extracted before printingcommences, and the validation advantages discussed above do not obtain.In the case of a linear image sensor, the tag data acquisition distanceequals the diameter of the normal tag imaging field of view. In the caseof a photodetector, the tag data acquisition distance is as long as therequired linear encoding.

If the tag sensor is operable during the entire printing phase at asufficiently high sampling rate, then it can also be used to performaccurate motion sensing, with the motion data being used to provide aline synchronisation signal to the print engine. This can be used toeliminate the effects of jitter in the transport mechanism.

FIGS. 91 to 97 show one embodiment of the encoded medium and the mediasensing and printing system within the mobile telecommunications device.While the encoding of the cards is briefly discussed here, it isdescribed in detail in the Coded Media sub-section of thisspecification. Likewise, the optical sensing of the encoded data isdescribed elsewhere in the specification and a comprehensiveunderstanding of the M-Print media and printing system requires thespecification to be read in its entirety.

Referring to FIG. 91, the ‘back-side’ of one of the cards 226 is shown.The back-side of the card has two coded data tracks: a ‘clock track’ 434and a ‘data track’ 436 running along the longitudinal sides of thecards. The cards are encoded with data indicating, inter alia:

-   -   the orientation of the card;    -   the media type and authenticity;    -   the longitudinal size;    -   the pre-printed side;    -   detection of prior printing on the card; and,    -   the position of the card relative to the printhead IC.

Ideally, the encoded data is printed in IR ink so that it is invisibleand does not encroach on the space available for printing visibleimages.

In a basic form, the M-Print cards 226 are only encoded with a datatrack and clocking (as a separate clock track or a self-clocking datatrack). However, in the more sophisticated embodiment shown in thefigures, the cards 226 have a pre-printed Netpage tag pattern 438covering the majority of the back-side. The front side may also have apre-printed tag pattern. It is preferred in these embodiments that thedata track encodes first information that is at least indicative ofsecond information encoded in the tags. Most preferably, the firstinformation is simply the document identity that is encoded in each ofthe tags.

The clock track 434 allows the MoPEC 326 (see FIG. 92) to determine, byits presence, that the front of the card 226 is facing the printhead202, and allows the printer to sense the motion of the card 226 duringprinting. The clock track 434 also provides a clock for the denselycoded data track 436.

The data track 436 provides the Netpage identifier and optionallyassociated digital signatures (as described elsewhere in thespecification) which allows Mopec 326 to reject fraudulent orun-authorised media 226, and to report the Netpage identifier of thefront-side Netpage tag pattern to a Netpage server.

FIG. 92 shows a block diagram of an M-Print system that uses mediaencoded with separate clock and data tracks. The clock and data tracksare read by separate optical encoders. The system may optionally have anexplicit edge detector 474 which is discussed in more detail below inrelation to FIG. 95.

FIG. 93 shows a simplified circuit for an optical encoder which may beused as the clock track or data track optical encoder. It incorporates aSchmitt trigger 466 to provide the MoPEC 326 with an essentially binarysignal representative of the marks and spaces encountered by the encoderin the clock or data track. An IR LED 472 is configured to illuminate amark-sized area of the card 226 and a phototransistor 468 is configuredto capture the light 470 reflected by the card. The LED 472 has a peakwavelength matched to the peak absorption wavelength of the infrared inkused to print the media coding.

As an alternative, the optical encoders can sense the direction of mediamovement by configuring them to be ‘quadrature encoders’. A quadratureencoder contains a pair of optical encoders spatially positioned to readthe clock track 90 degrees out of phase. Its in-phase and quadratureoutputs allow the MoPEC 326 to identify not just the motion of the clocktrack 434 but also the direction of the motion. A quadrature encoder isgenerally not required, since the media transport direction is known apriori because the printer controller also controls the transport motor.However, the use of a quadrature encoder can help decouple abi-directional motion sensing mechanism from the motion controlmechanism.

FIG. 94 shows a block diagram of the MoPEC 326. It incorporates adigital phase lock loop (DPLL) 444 to track the clock inherent in theclock track 434 (see FIG. 91), a line sync generator 448 to generate theline sync signal 476 from the clock 446, and a data decoder 450 todecode the data in the data track 436. De-framing, error detection anderror correction may be performed by software running on MoPEC'sgeneral-purpose processor 452, or it may be performed by dedicatedhardware in MoPEC.

The data decoder 450 uses the clock 446 recovered by the DPLL 444 tosample the signal from the data track optical encoder 442. It may eithersample the continuous signal from the data track optical encoder 442, orit may actually trigger the LED of the data track optical encoder 442for the duration of the sample period, thereby reducing the total powerconsumption of the LED.

The DPLL 444 may be a PLL, or it may simply measure and filter theperiod between successive clock pulses.

The line sync generator 456 consists of a numerically-controlledoscillator which generates line sync pulses 476 at a rate which is amultiple of the rate of the clock 446 recovered from the clock track434.

As shown in FIG. 92, the print engine may optionally incorporate anexplicit edge detector 474 to provide longitudinal registration of thecard 226 with the operation of the printhead 202. In this case, as shownin FIG. 95, it generates a page sync signal 478 to signal the start ofprinting after counting a fixed number of line syncs 476 after edgedetection. Longitudinal registration may also be achieved by othercard-in detection mechanisms ranging from opto-sensors, de-cappingmechanical switches, drive shaft/tension spring contact switch and motorload detection.

Optionally, the printer can rely on the media coding itself to obtainlongitudinal registration. For example, it may rely on acquisition of apilot sequence on the data track 436 to obtain registration. In thiscase, as shown in FIG. 96, it generates a page sync signal 478 to signalthe start of printing after counting a fixed number of line syncs 476after pilot detection. The pilot detector 460 consists of a shiftregister and combinatorial logic to recognise the pilot sequence 480provided by the data decoder 450, and generate the pilot sync signal482. Relying on the media coding itself can provide superior informationfor registering printed content with the Netpage tag pattern 438 (seeFIG. 91).

As shown in FIG. 97, the data track optical encoder 442 is positionedadjacent to the first clock data encoder 440, so that the data track 436(see FIG. 91) can be decoded as early as possible and using therecovered clock signal 446. The clock must be acquired before printingcan commence, so a first optical encoder 440 is positioned before theprinthead 202 in the media feed path. However, as the clock needs to betracked throughout the print, a second clock optical encoder 464 ispositioned coincident with or downstream of the printhead 202. This isdescribed in more detail below.

FIG. 73 shows the printed card 226 being withdrawn from the printcartridge 148. It will be appreciated that the printed card 226 needs tobe manually withdrawn by the user. Once the trailing edge of the card226 has passed between the drive shaft 178 and the spring fingers 238,it is no longer driven along the media feed path. However, as theprinthead 202 is less than 2 mm from the drive shaft 178, the momentumof the card 226 projects the trailing edge of past the printhead 202.

While the momentum of the card is sufficient to carry the trailing edgepast the printhead, it is not enough to fling it out of the exit slot150 (FIG. 14). Instead, the card 226 is lightly gripped by the opposedlock actuator arms 232 as it protrudes from the exit slot 150 in theside of the mobile phone 100. This retains the card 226 so it does notsimply fall from exit slot 150, but rather allows users to manuallyremove the printed card 226 from the mobile phone 100 at theirconvenience. This is important to the practicality of the mobiletelecommunications device because the card 226 is fed into one side ofthe mobile telecommunications device and retrieved from the other, sousers will typically want to swap the hand that holds the mobiletelecommunications device when collecting the printed card. By lightlyretaining the printed card, users do not need to swap hands and be readyto collect the card before completion of the print job (approximately1-2 secs).

Alternatively, the velocity of the card as it leaves the roller can bemade high enough that the card exits the outlet slot 123 under its owninertia.

Dual Clock Sensor Synchronization

For full bleed printing, the decoder needs to generate a line syncsignal for the entire longitudinal length of the card. Unless the cardhas a detachable strip (described elsewhere in the specification), theprint engine will need two clock track sensors; one either side ofprinthead. Initially the line sync signal is generated from the clocksignal from the pre-printhead sensor and then, before the trailing edgeof the card passes the pre-printhead sensor, the line sync signal needsto be generated by the post-printhead sensor. In order to switch fromthe first clock signal to the second, the second needs to besynchronized with the first to avoid any discontinuity in the line syncsignal (which cause artifacts in the print).

Referring to FIG. 99, a pair of DPLL's 443 and 444 track the clockinherent in the clock track, via respective first and second clock trackoptical encoders 440 and 464. During the initial phase of the print onlythe first encoder 440 will be seeing the clock track and only the firstPLL 443 will be locked. The card is printed as it passes the printheadand then the second clock track optical encoder 464 sees the clocktrack. At this stage, both encoders will be seeing the clock track andboth DPLL's will be locked. During the final phase of the print only thesecond encoder will be seeing the clock track and only the second DPLL443 will be locked.

During the initial phase the output from the first DPLL 440 must be usedto generate the line sync signal 476, but before the end of the middlephase the decoder must start using the output from the second DPLL 444to generate the line sync signal 476. Since it is not generallypractical to space the encoders an integer number of clock periodsapart, the output from the second DPLL 444 must be phase-aligned withthe output of the first DPLL 443 before the transition occurs.

For the purposes of managing the transition, there are four clocktracking phases of interest. During the first phase, when only the firstDPLL 443 is locked, the clock from the first DPLL 443 is selected via amultiplexer 462 and fed to the line sync generator 448. During thesecond phase, which starts when the second DPLL 444 locks, the phasedifference between the two DPLLs is computed 441 and latched into aphase difference register 445. During the third phase, which starts afixed time after the start of the second phase, the signal from thesecond DPLL 444, is fed through a delay 447 set by the latched phasedifference in the latch register 445. During the fourth phase, whichstarts a fixed time after the start of the third phase, the delayedclock from the second DPLL 447 is selected via the multiplexer 462 andfed to the line sync generator 448.

FIG. 101 shows the signals which control the clock tracking phases. Thelock signals 449 and 451 are generated using lock detection circuits inthe DPLL's 443 and 444. Alternatively, PLL lock is assumed according toapproximate knowledge of the position of the card relative to the twoencoders 440 and 464. The two phase control signals 453 and 455 aretriggered by the lock signals 449 and 451 and controlled by timers.

Note that in practice, rather than explicitly delaying the second PLL'sclock, the delayed clock can be generated directly by a digitaloscillator which takes into account the phase difference.

Two Drive Shaft Version

Projecting the card 226 past the printhead 202 by momentum, permits acompact single drive shaft design. However, the deceleration of the card226 once it disengages from the drive shaft 178 makes the generation ofan accurate line sync signal 476 for the trailing edge much moredifficult. If the compactness of the device is not overly critical, asecond drive shaft after the printhead can keep the speed of the cardconstant until printing is complete.

FIGS. 110 and 114 show a dual drive shaft embodiment. Referring firstlyto FIG. 110, the print cartridge 148 has the first drive shaft 178 anddrive roller 176 and as with the previous embodiments, the cartridge 148is carried by the cradle 124. However, the cradle 124 carries a seconddrive shaft 486, drive roller 492, and miniature spikewheels 488 on asprung shaft 489. The second drive shaft 486 uses the spikewheels 488instead of a media guide similar to the spring fingers 230 of firstdrive shaft 178, to avoid smudging any wet ink. FIGS. 111 to 113 showthe cartridge installed in the cradle. A central drive roller 490mounted at the end of the cradle, abuts both first and second driverollers 176 and 492 simultaneously. This ensures a synchronized drivespeed. The central drive roller 490 can be driven by the piezo electricor electric motor drive systems discussed above.

Section A-A shown in FIG. 114 best shows the media feed path through thecartridge/cradle assembly. When the trailing edge of the card 226disengages from the first drive shaft 178, the second drive shaft 486continues to draw it past the printhead 202 at essentially the samespeed. The line sync signal generated using the clock track is constantand therefore it is less difficult for the MoPEC chip to longitudinallyregister the printing with the trailing edge. Upon completion of theprinting, the MoPEC chip can stop the central drive roller 490 so thatthe card is held in the nip between the second drive shaft 486 and thespikewheeks 488 for user retrieval. Alternatively, it can be fed back inthe reverse direction for user retrieval from the inlet slot.

It will be appreciated, of course, that in some embodiments there willbe no provision for a clock track and/or coded data such as a lineartrack or Netpage tags. Where no (implicit or explicit) clock track isprovided, other mechanisms such as optical, magnetic or electricalfeedback, including feedback from one or more transducers associatedwith one or more rollers or other mechanisms can be used to determinethe position and speed of the card before and/or during printing. Whereno form of coded data is provided, the printer simply prints onto anyform of print medium that is inserted and is capable of being printedon. Both options open a variety of issues related to quality control ofprinted output, including media jamming, ink bleeding, and unduemechanical stress and wear on the printer components.

Media Coding

The card 226 shown in FIG. 91 has coded data in the form of the clocktrack 434, the data track 436 and the Netpag tag pattern 438. This codeddata can serve a variety of functions and these are described below.However, the functions listed below are not exhaustive and the codedmedia (together with the appropriate mobile telecommunications device)can implement many other functions as well. Similarly, it is notnecessary for all of these features to be incorporated into the codeddata on the media. Any one or more can be combined to suit theapplication or applications for which a particular print medium and/orsystem is designed.

Side

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, which side of the card is facing the printhead,i.e. the front or the back. This allows the printer to reject the cardif it is inserted back-to-front, in case the card has been pre-printedwith graphics on the back (e.g. advertising), or in case the front andthe back have different surface treatments (e.g. to protect the graphicspre-printed on the back and/or to facilitate high-quality printing onthe front). It also allows the printer to print side-dependent content(e.g. a photo on the front and corresponding photo details on the back).

Orientation

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, the orientation of the card in relation to theprinthead. This allows the printhead to print graphics rotated to matchthe rotation of pre-printed graphics on the back. It also allows theprinter to reject the card if it is inserted with the incorrectorientation (with respect to pre-printed graphics on the back).Orientation can be determined by detecting an explicit orientationindicator, or by using the known orientation of information printed foranother purpose, such as Netpage tags or even pre-printed userinformation or advertising.

Media Type/Size

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, the type of the card. This allows the printer toprepare print data or select a print mode specific to the media type,for example, color conversion using a color profile specific to themedia type, or droplet size modulation according to the expectedabsorbance of the card. The card can be coded to allow the printer todetermine, prior to commencing printing, the longitudinal size of thecard. This allows the printer to print graphics formatted for the sizeof the card, for example, a panoramic crop of a photo to match apanoramic card.

Prior Printing

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, if the side of the card facing the printhead ispre-printed. The printer can then reject the card, prior to commencingprinting, if it is inserted with the pre-printed side facing theprinthead. This prevents over-printing. It also allows the printer toprepare, prior to commencing printing, content which fits into a knownblank area on an otherwise pre-printed side (for example, photo detailson the back of a photo, printed onto a card with pre-printed advertisingon the back, but with a blank area for the photo details).

The card can be coded to allow the printer to detect, prior tocommencing printing, whether the side facing the printhead has alreadybeen printed on demand (as opposed to pre-printed). This allows theprinter to reject the card, prior to commencing printing, if the sidefacing the printhead has already been printed on demand, rather thanoverprinting the already-printed graphics.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, ideally priorto commencing printing, if it is an authorised card. This allows theprinter to reject, ideally prior to commencing printing, anun-authorised card, as the quality of the card will then be unknown, andthe quality of the print cannot be guaranteed.

Position

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, the absolute longitudinal position of the card inrelation to the printhead. This allows the printer to print graphics inregistration with the card. This can also be achieved by other means,such as by directly detecting the leading edge of the card.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, prior tocommencing printing, the absolute lateral position of the card inrelation to the printhead. This allows the printer to print graphics inregistration with the card. This can also be achieved by other means,such as by providing a snug paper path, and/or by detecting the sideedge(s) of the card.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to track, during printing,the longitudinal position of the card in relation to the printhead, orthe longitudinal speed of the card in relation to the printhead. Thisallows the printer to print graphics in registration with the card. Thiscan also be achieved by other means, such as by coding and tracking amoving part in the transport mechanism.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to track, during printing,the lateral position of the card in relation to the printhead, or thelateral speed of the card in relation to the printhead. This allows theprinter to print graphics in registration with the card. This can alsobe achieved by other means, such as by providing a snug paper path,and/or by detecting the side edge(s) of the card.

Invisibility

The coding can be disposed on or in the card so as to render itsubstantially invisible to an unaided human eye. This prevents thecoding from detracting from printed graphics.

Fault Tolerance

The coding can be sufficiently fault-tolerant to allow the printer toacquire and decode the coding in the presence of an expected amount ofsurface contamination or damage. This prevents an expected amount ofsurface contamination or damage from causing the printer to reject thecard or from causing the printer to produce a sub-standard print.

Card and Printer Alternatives

In light of the broad ranging functionality that a suitable M-Printprinter with compatible cards can provide, several design alternativesfor the printer, the cards and the coding are outlined below. Again,this list is not intended to be exhaustive, but instead is merelyillustrative of some possible variations to the embodiments shownelsewhere in this specification.

Self-Clocking Data Track

As an alternative to using separate clock and data tracks, the datatrack can be self-clocking and the clock can be recovered from the datatrack for other purposes such as line sync generation. FIG. 98 shows thelayout of the same coding as described in relation to the card 226 shownin FIG. 91, but using a self-clocking data track 500. The self-clockingdata track 500 can use a Manchester phase encoding, or anotherself-clocking scheme such as return-to-zero (RZ). Encoding of the datais described in greater detail in the “Linear Encoding” sub-sectionbelow.

FIG. 99 shows a block diagram of the corresponding MoPEC chip, where theDPLL 444 operates on the self clocking data track 500 rather than aseparate clock track.

The self-clocking data track 500 eliminates the need for separate clockand data optical encoders, and reduces the impact that separate clockand data tracks have on the area of Netpage interactivity. Thedisadvantage of a self-clocking data track is that it encodes data athalf the rate of an explicitly-clocked data track.

In subsequent media coding variations which include a separate clock anddata track, a self-clocking data track 500 can also be used, even whennot explicitly mentioned.

Reading Phase Before Printing Phase

The minimal media coding is designed to be read during printing ratherthan prior to printing. Information encoded in the data track 436 isgenerally not available until after printing is complete. For example,the printer typically cannot use the Netpage identifier and digitalsignature to validate the card 226 before printing.

The printer can gain access to data track information prior to printingby transporting the card 226 in a forward direction past the data trackoptical encoder 442, decoding some or all of the data track 436, andthen transporting the card back to its starting position. This can alsoprovide the printer with more space to recognize a robust page syncindicator in the data track 436, as discussed above in relation to thecard shown in FIG. 91. The information in the data track can then beusefully expanded to serve some or all of the other functions in theMedia Coding subsection.

Explicit Side and Orientation Indicators

The minimal media coding does not explicitly encode the side of the card226. The printer determines from the presence of the clock track 434that the front of the card is facing the printhead. The minimal mediacoding does not make the orientation of the card accessible to theprinter prior to printing, unless the printer implements a reading phaseas described above. Instead, the minimal encoding assumes that it isadvantageous for the user to be able to present the card in eitherorientation (but not upside-down).

Rather than allow printing in both orientations, the printer can rejectthe card 226 if presented in the wrong orientation. To allow this, themedia coding must include an orientation indicator accessible to theprinter prior to printing. As shown in FIG. 102, the benefit of this isthat a smaller area of the card is dedicated to the clock 434 and datatracks 436, and a larger area is therefore available for Netpageinteractivity.

Instead of relying on the absence of a clock track on the front of thecard to indicate side, the media coding can instead include explicitside indicators on the front side as well. The following table gives anexample of an 8-bit code which can be used to fault-tolerantly encodethe side and orientation indicator:

Codeword Side Orientation 00000000 Front Normal 00011111 Rotated11100011 Back Normal 11111100 Rotated

The code has a minimum distance of five, so it can correct two errors.Longer and more robust codes are obviously possible.

The indicator 502 can be included in the data track immediately afterthe pilot. The side & orientation indicator 502 can also be combinedwith the pilot by designing a code of suitable length whose fourcodewords are maximally separated from each other as well as frompreamble-prefixed shifts of themselves.

Like the data track 436, the side & orientation indicator 502 can beexplicitly clocked by the clock track 434, or self-clocking.

Rather than being clocked at the same rate as the remainder of the datatrack 436, the side & orientation indicators 502 can be gross markerswhich can be recognised given only rough longitudinal registration. Forexample, the two bits required to encode the side and orientation can bepulse-position modulated (PPM) using gross marks (e.g. 0.5 mm long) foreach pulse.

The following table defines some possible PPM schemes. In the table, azero indicates a gross space and a one indicates a gross mark.

2PPM 4PPM Side Orientation 0101 0001 Front Normal 0110 0010 Rotated 10010100 Back Normal 1010 1000 Rotated

Data Track on Both Sides

Rather than relying on all possible future printers having opticalencoders mounted to face the back of the card 226, the media coding caninstead include clock 434 and data tracks 436 on the front as well.

Card with Detachable Strip

The arrangement shown in FIGS. 91 to 97 uses two clock track opticaldecoders 440 and 464, one to ensure that the clock is acquired beforeprinting commences, and the other to ensure clock tracking continuestill the end of the print. As an alternative, the card 226 can beextended with a tear-off strip 504, as shown in FIG. 103, with the clocktrack 434 extending onto the strip.

The tear-off strip 504 is manufactured as part of the card 226, andremains joined to the card by a perforation until detached by the user,as shown in FIG. 104. The perforation is fine enough to leave an edgewhich is smooth to the touch.

By extending the length of the card via a strip attached to the card'strailing edge, a single clock track linear encoder 464 located upstreamof the printhead 202 (see FIG. 97) is sufficient to support clockacquisition before printing starts as well as clock tracking throughoutthe entire print.

A second important benefit of the strip 504 is that a single drive shaft178 can drive the card past the printhead throughout the print, i.e.without requiring a second drive shaft 486, or without expecting thecard to “fly” un-driven for a final short distance using only itsmomentum.

To ensure correct recognition of the card 226 after the tear-off strip504 is removed, the media coding can include a second side & orientationindicator 508 which is exposed when the tear-off strip 504 is removed.This is shown in FIG. 103.

The tear-off strip 504 may create a source of litter. To counteractthis, each tear-off strip can act as a lottery ticket when presented toa retailer which sells M-Print media. The retailer can check a presentedstrip using any of the many Netpage-enabled devices described in theassignee's cross-referenced Netpage applications and patents.

Card with Square Corners

Whether the card 226 has a detachable strip 504 or not, a card shapewith square rather than rounded corners may be preferable. Photoprinting is arguably the most compelling application of M-Print. Bothphotos and business cards usually have square corners. Furthermore, thepresence of a tear-off strip 504 creates an additional motivation to usesquare rather than round corners. FIGS. 106 and 107 show a card 226 withsquare corners 510 and a tear-off strip 504.

Lateral Data Track

Rather than transporting the card 226 forward twice to effect a readingphase before printing phase (as described above), the media coding canincorporate a lateral rather than a longitudinal data track.

As shown in FIG. 108, a lateral data track 514, whether explicitlyclocked 512 or self-clocked, can be read by a linear image sensor.Relevant techniques and devices are described in the Applicant'sco-pending applications U.S. Ser. No. 11/084,796 (Docket No. NOS001US),filed on Mar. 21, 2005. The lateral data track 514 is ideally placedalong the leading edge 516 of the card, so it can be fully decoded priorto printing. It can be placed on the tear-off strip 504, thuseliminating the impact of the data track 514 on the Netpage tag pattern438 on the card proper (that is, the retained portion of the card 226).In this case, the tear-off strip 504 needs to be on the leading edge 516of the card, rather than the trailing edge 518. This in turn dictatesthat the clock track optical encoder 464 is positioned downstream of theprinthead 202 rather than upstream (see FIG. 97). The card proper stillhas self-clocking side & orientation indicators 502 and a single clocktrack 434 on each side, but no data track. The lateral data track 514can provide the basis for accurate lateral registration, in particularto provide accurate lateral registration between the Netpage tag pattern438 and the printed visual content.

A lateral track can also be added to non-tear-off versions of the card.

The linear image sensor extends laterally across the media feed path infront of the printhead with respect to the media feed direction. Theimage sensor is a linear array of active pixel sensors, each sensorreading the coded data within a sample area on the card. The sample areacorresponds to the ‘Mnem area’ described in detail in the Applicant'sco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/084,796 (Docket No.NOS001US) filed on 21 Mar. 2005, the contents of which are incorporatedherein be cross reference. FIG. 109 shows a detailed physical view of aMemjet printhead IC with an integral image sensor. For simplicity thefigure only shows a single row of 1600 dpi nozzles 600, mounted adjacentassociated actuators and drive circuitry shown generally at 601. Notethat because the 32-micron width of each nozzle unit cell exceeds the16-micron dot pitch required for 1600 dpi printing, each row of nozzlesis composed of two staggered half-rows 602, 603. The sampling rate N is2.5 in the arrangement shown.

Although a sample area may utilize a single printed dot to represent asingle encoded bit, it may also utilize more than one printed dot torepresent a single encoded bit. For example, a sample area may utilize a2×2 array of printed dots to represent a single bit. Thus if the printerresolution is 1600 dpi, the sample area resolution is only 800 dpi. Incertain applications, reducing the print resolution of a sample area mayprovide more robust performance, such as in the presence of particularsources of surface degradation or damage.

If the area resolution is lower than the printer resolution, then theratio of the pixel count to the nozzle count can be reduced accordingly,and larger pixel sensors can be employed. For example, in the case ofthe Memjet printhead shown in FIG. 109, a 12.8 micron pixel sensor canbe utilized in place of two 6.4 micron pixel sensors.

Automatic Printing

In one form, the mobile device is configured to automatically commenceprinting once the print medium is inserted into the feed path. Amechanical or optical sensor (or combination thereof) can be used todetermine when this has happened.

The device can print automatically in a number of ways. In one example,the device automatically prints the current document or file presentlyin use by the user. This will, in the majority of cases, be the documentor application presently being viewed on the device's display. Forexample, if the user is reading an email or SMS shown on the display,inserting a print medium will cause the email or SMS to be printed.

Alternatively, the user can instruct the mobile device to print adocument or file and subsequently insert the print medium. The mobiledevice will then cause automatic printing of the next print job in thequeue. Optionally, the device can ask for confirmation of the job to beprinted, particularly if an excessive amount of time has passed sincethe job was placed in the queue.

Preferably, the printing mode is selectable by the user, therebyenabling automatic printing to be activated (print immediately withoutconfirmation), partially activated (wait for confirmation) ordeactivated (wait for explicit instruction from user to print).

Possible M-Print Configurations.

From the above alternatives, there are a number of possibilities for thephysical configuration of the components in an M-Print printer. Eachpossibility has inherent advantages and disadvantages which can beassessed when choosing a configuration for a particular M-Printapplication. A selection of the possible configurations and theirassociated advantages is set out below with reference to the schematicrepresentations shown in FIGS. 115 to 120. These figures position thecomponents with reference to the media feed path and the followingM-Print parameters:

Tracking Tail Fly Period (TTFP): a period of time during which MoPECdoes not receive card tracking information from the coding.

Drive Tail Fly Period (DTFP): the period of time between thedisengagement of the card from the drive shaft and it coming to restwithin the media path.

Drive Settling Period (DSP): the period of time between the initialengagement of the card with the drive shaft and the card accelerating toit's steady state speed.

Tracking Settling Period (TSP): the period of time that the opticalencoder requires to lock onto the markings of the clock track.

Media Coding Dead Zone (MCDZ): the portion of the data track that isvisible to the data encoder while the card is not being driven. Readingdata from the MCDZ can be unpredictable.

Ink Drying Time (IDT): the minimum period of time after a drop of ink isprinted to the card, that the printed dot can be contacted withoutdegrading print quality.

Encoder-Drive-Printhead: As shown in FIG. 115, positioning the encoder440 before the drive shaft 178, which in turn is before the printhead202 minimizes the distance between the printhead and drive. Thisconfiguration also uses minimum components. This allows a compactdesign.

Drive-Encoder-Printhead: Referring to FIG. 116, positioning the driveshaft 178, the encoder 440 and the printhead 202 sequentially along themedia path simplifies leading edge detection.

Encoder-Drive-Printhead-Drive: The configuration shown in FIG. 117 isthe same as that of FIG. 115 with the addition of the second drive shaft486. This removes DTFP and simplifies handling of TTFP.

Encoder-Drive-Printhead-Drive: The configuration shown in FIG. 118 isthe same as that of FIG. 116 with the addition of the second drive shaft486. This removes DTFP, MCDZ and simplifies handling of TTFP.

Encoder-Drive-Printhead-Encoder: The configuration shown in FIG. 119 isthe same as that of FIG. 115 with the addition of the second encoder464. This removes TTFP and simplifies handling of DTFP.

Drive-Encoder-Printhead-Encoder: The configuration shown in FIG. 120 isthe same as that of FIG. 116 with the addition of the second encoder464. This removes TTFP, MCDZ and simplifies handling of DTFP plusleading edge detection.

It should be noted that maximizing DSP and TSP, minimizing TTFP andDTFP, and avoiding MCDZ and IDT, are general design objectives for theseconfigurations.

Linear Encoding

Kip is the assignee's internal name for a template for a class of robustone-dimensional optical encoding schemes for storing small quantities ofdigital data on physical surfaces. It optionally incorporates errorcorrection to cope with real-world surface degradation.

A particular encoding scheme is defined by specializing the Kip templatedescribed below. Parameters include the data capacity, the clockingscheme, the physical scale, and the level of redundancy. A Kip reader istypically also specialized for a particular encoding scheme.

A Kip encoding is designed to be read via a simple optical detectorduring transport of the encoded medium past the detector. The encodingtherefore typically runs parallel to the transport direction of themedium. For example, a Kip encoding may be read from a print mediumduring printing. In the preferred embodiment, Kip encoded data isprovided along at least one (and preferably two or more) of thelongitudinal edges of the print media to be printed in a mobile device,as described above. In the preferred form, the Kip encoded data isprinted in infrared ink, rendering it invisible or at least difficult tosee with the unaided eye.

A Kip encoding is typically printed onto a surface, but may be disposedon or in a surface by other means.

SUMMARY OF KIP PARAMETERS

The following tables summarize the parameters required to specializeKip. The parameters should be understood in the context of the entiredocument.

The following table summarizes framing parameters:

parameter units description L_(data) bits Length of bitstream data.

The following table summarizes clocking parameters:

parameter units description b_(clock) {0, 1} Flag indicating whether theclock is implicit (0) or explicit (1). C_(clocksync) clock Length ofclock synchronization interval periods required before data.

The following table summarizes physical parameters:

Parameter Units Description l_(clock) mm Length of clock period.l_(mark) mm Length of mark. l_(preamble) mm Length of preamble. Equalsor exceeds decoder's uncertainty in longitudinal position of strip.w_(mintrack) mm Minimum width of track. w_(misreg) mm Maximum lateralmisregistration of strip with respect to reader. α radians Maximumrotation of strip with respect to reader.

The following table summarizes error correction parameters:

Parameter Units Description m bits Size of Reed-Solomon symbol. ksymbols Size of Reed-Solomon codeword data. t symbols Error-correctingcapacity of Reed-Solomon code.

Kip Encoding

A Kip encoding encodes a single bitstream of data, and includes a numberof discrete and independent layers, as illustrated in FIG. 121. Theframing layer frames the bitstream to allow synchronization and simpleerror detection. The modulation and clocking layer encodes the bits ofthe frame along with clocking information to allow bit recovery. Thephysical layer represents the modulated and clocked frame usingoptically-readable marks.

An optional error correction layer encodes the bitstream to allow errorcorrection. An application can choose to use the error correction layeror implement its own.

A Kip encoding is designed to allow serial decoding and hence has animplied time dimension. By convention in this document the time axispoints to the right. However, a particular Kip encoding may bephysically represented at any orientation that suits the application.

Framing

A Kip frame consists of a preamble, a pilot, the bitstream data itself,and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) word, as illustrated in FIG. 122.

The preamble consists of a sequence of zeros of length L_(preamble). Thepreamble is long enough to allow the application to start the Kipdecoder somewhere within the preamble, i.e. it is long enough for theapplication to know a priori the location of at least part of thepreamble. The length of the preamble sequence in bits is thereforederived from an application-specific preamble length l_(preamble) (seeEQ8).

The pilot consists of a unique pattern that allows the decoder tosynchronize with the frame. The pilot pattern is designed to maximizeits binary Hamming distance from arbitrary shifts of itself prefixed bypreamble bits. This allows the decoder to utilize a maximum-likelihooddecoder to recognize the pilot, even in the presence of bit errors.

The preamble and pilot together guarantee that any bit sequence thedecoder detects before it detects the pilot is maximally separated fromthe pilot.

The pilot sequence is 1110 1011 0110 0010. Its length L_(pilot) is 16.Its minimum distance from preamble-prefixed shifts of itself is 9. Itcan therefore be recognized reliably in the presence of up to 4 biterrors.

The length L_(data) of the bitstream is known a priori by theapplication and is therefore a parameter. It is not encoded in theframe. The bitstream is encoded most-significant bit first, i.e.leftmost.

The CRC (cyclic redundancy code) is a CCITT CRC-16 (known to thoseskilled in the art, and so not described in detail here) calculated onthe bitstream data, and allows the decoder to determine if the bitstreamhas been corrupted. The length L_(CRC) of the CRC is 16. The CRC iscalculated on the bitstream from left to right. The bitstream is paddedwith zero bits during calculation of the CRC to make its length aninteger multiple of 8 bits. The padding is not encoded in the frame.

The length of a frame in bits is:

L _(frame) =L _(preamble) +L _(pilot) +L _(data) +L _(CRC)  (EQ 1)

L _(frame) =L _(preamble) +L _(data)+32  (EQ 2)

Modulation and Clocking

The Kip encoding modulates the frame bit sequence to produce a sequenceof abstract marks and spaces. These are realized physically by thephysical layer.

The Kip encoding supports both explicit and implicit clocking. When theframe is explicitly clocked, the encoding includes a separate clocksequence encoded in parallel with the frame, as illustrated in FIG. 123.The bits of the frame are then encoded using a conventionalnon-return-to-zero (NRZ) encoding. A zero bit is represented by a space,and a one bit is represented by a mark.

The clock itself consists of a sequence of alternating marks and spaces.The center of a clock mark is aligned with the center of a bit in theframe. The frame encodes two bits per clock period, i.e. the bitrate ofthe frame is twice the rate of the clock.

The clock starts a number of clock periods C_(clocksync) before thestart of the frame to allow the decoder to acquire clock synchronizationbefore the start of the frame. The size of C_(clocksync) depends on thecharacteristics of the PLL used by the decoder, and is therefore areader-specific parameter.

When the encoding is explicitly clocked, the corresponding decoderincorporates an additional optical sensor to sense the clock.

When the frame is implicitly clocked, the bits of the frame are encodedusing a Manchester phase encoding. A zero bit is represented byspace-mark transition, and a one bit is represented by mark-spacetransition, with both transitions defined left-to-right. The Manchesterphase encoding allows the decoder to extract the clock signal from themodulated frame.

In this case the preamble is extended by C_(clocksync) bits to allow thedecoder to acquire clock synchronization before searching for the pilot.

Assuming the same marking frequency, the bit density of theexplicitly-clocked encoding is twice the bit density of theimplicitly-clocked encoding.

The choice between explicit and implicit clocking depends on theapplication. Explicit clocking has the advantage that it providesgreater longitudinal data density than implicit clocking. Implicitclocking has the advantage that it only requires a single opticalsensor, while explicit clocking requires two optical sensors.

The parameter b_(clock) indicates whether the clock is implicit(b_(clock)=0) or explicit (b_(clock)=1). The length, in clock periods,of the modulated and clocked Kip frame is:

C _(frame) =C _(clocksync) +L _(frame)/(1+b _(clock))  (EQ 3)

Physical Representation

The Kip encoding represents the modulated and clocked frame physicallyas a strip that has both a longitudinal extent (i.e. in the codingdirection) and a lateral extent.

A Kip strip always contains a data track. It also contains a clock trackif it is explicitly clocked rather than implicitly clocked.

The clock period l_(clock) within a Kip strip is nominally fixed,although a particular decoder will typically be able to cope with acertain amount of jitter and drift. Jitter and drift may also beintroduced by the transport mechanism in a reader. The amount of jitterand drift supported by a decoder is decoder specific.

A suitable clock period depends on the characteristics of the medium andthe marking mechanism, as well as on the characteristics of the reader.It is therefore an application-specific parameter.

Abstract marks and spaces have corresponding physical representationswhich give rise to distinct intensities when sampled by a matchedoptical sensor, allowing the decoder to distinguish marks and spaces.The spectral characteristics of the optical sensor, and hence thecorresponding spectral characteristics of the physical marks and spaces,are application specific.

The transition time between a mark and a space is nominally zero, but isallowed to be up to 5% of the clock period.

An abstract mark is typically represented by a physical mark printedusing an ink with particular absorption characteristics, such as aninfrared-absorptive ink, and an abstract space is typically representedby the absence of such a physical mark, i.e. by the absorptioncharacteristics of the substrate, such as broadband reflective (white)paper. However, Kip does not prescribe this.

The length l_(work) of a mark and length l_(space) of a space arenominally the same. Suitable marks and spaces depend on thecharacteristics of the medium and the marking mechanism, as well as onthe characteristics of the reader. Their lengths are thereforeapplication-specific parameters.

The length of a mark and the length of a space may differ by up to afactor of ((2+(√{square root over (2)}−1))/(2−(√{square root over(2)}−1))) to accommodate printing of marks at up to half the maximum dotresolution of a particular printer, as illustrated in FIG. 125. Thefactor may vary between unity and the limit according to verticalposition, as illustrated in the figure.

The sum of the length of a mark and the length of a space equals theclock period:

l _(clock) =l _(mark) +l _(space)  (EQ 4)

The overall length of the strip is:

l _(strip) =l _(clock) ×C _(frame)  (EQ 5)

The minimum width w_(mintrack) of a data track (or clock track) within astrip depends on the reader. It is therefore an application-specificparameter.

The required width w_(track) of a data track (or clock track) within astrip is determined by the maximum allowable lateral misregistrationw_(misreg) and maximum allowable rotation α Of the strip with respect tothe transport path past the corresponding optical sensor:

w _(track) =w _(mintrack) +w _(misreg) +l _(strip) tan α  (EQ 6)

The maximum lateral misregistration and rotation depend on thecharacteristics of the medium and the marking mechanism, as well as onthe characteristics of the reader. They are thereforeapplication-specific parameters.

The width of a strip is:

w _(strip)=(1+b _(clock))×w _(track)  (EQ 7)

The length of the preamble sequence in bits is derived from a parameterwhich specifies the length of the preamble:

$\begin{matrix}{L_{preamble} = {\left\lceil \frac{l_{preamble}}{l_{clock}} \right\rceil \times \left( {1 + b_{clock}} \right)}} & \left( {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 8} \right)\end{matrix}$

Error Correction

The Kip encoding optionally includes error correcting coding (ECC)information to allow the decoder to correct bitstream data corrupted bysurface damage or dirt. Reed-Solomon redundancy data is appended to theframe to produce an extended frame, as illustrated in FIG. 126.

A Kip Reed-Solomon code is characterized by its symbol size m (in bits),data size k (in symbols), and error-correcting capacity t (in symbols),as described below. A Reed-Solomon code is chosen according to the sizeL_(data) of the bitstream data and the expected bit error rate. Theparameters of the code are therefore application-specific.

Redundancy data is calculated on the concatenation of the bitstream dataand the CRC. This allows the CRC to be corrected as well.

The bitstream data and the CRC are padded with zero bits duringcalculation of the redundancy data to make their length an integermultiple of the symbol size m. The padding is not encoded in theextended frame.

A decoder verifies the CRC before performing Reed-Solomon errorcorrection. If the CRC is valid, then error correction may potentiallybe skipped. If the CRC is invalid, then the decoder performs errorcorrection. It then verifies the CRC again to check that errorcorrection succeeded.

The length of a Reed-Solomon codeword in bits is:

L _(codeword)=(2t+k)×m  (EQ 9)

The number of Reed-Solomon codewords is:

$\begin{matrix}{s = {\frac{\left( {L_{data} + L_{CRC}} \right) - 1}{L_{codeword}} + 1}} & \left( {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 10} \right)\end{matrix}$

The length of the redundancy data is:

L _(ECC) =s×(2t×m)  (EQ 11)

The length of an extended frame in bits is:

Reed-Solomon Coding

A 2^(m)-ary Reed-Solomon code (n, k) is characterized by its symbol sizem (in bits), codeword size n (in symbols), and data size k (in symbols),where:

n=2^(m)−1  (EQ 13)

The error-correcting capacity of the code is t symbols, where:

$\begin{matrix}{t = \left\lfloor \frac{n - k}{2} \right\rfloor} & \left( {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 14} \right)\end{matrix}$

To minimize the redundancy overhead of a given error-correctingcapacity, the number of redundancy symbols n−k is chosen to be even,i.e. so that:

2t=n−k  (EQ 15)

Reed-Solomon codes are well known and understood in the art of datastorage, and so are not described in great detail here.

Data symbols d_(i) and redundancy symbols r_(j) of the code are indexedfrom left to right according to the power of their correspondingpolynomial terms, as illustrated in FIG. 127. Note that data bits areindexed in the opposite direction, i.e. from right to left.

The data capacity of a given code may be reduced by puncturing the code,i.e. by systematically removing a subset of data symbols. Missingsymbols can then be treated as erasures during decoding. In this case:

n=k+2t<2^(m)−1  (EQ16)

Longer codes and codes with greater error-correcting capacities arecomputationally more expensive to decode than shorter codes or codeswith smaller error-correcting capacities. Where application constraintslimit the complexity of the code and the required data capacity exceedsthe capacity of the chosen code, multiple codewords can be used toencode the data. To maximize the codewords' resilience to burst errors,the codewords are interleaved.

To maximize the utility of the Kip encoding, the bitstream is encodedcontiguously and in order within the frame. To reconcile the requirementfor interleaving and the requirement for contiguity and order, thebitstream is de-interleaved for the purpose of computing theReed-Solomon redundancy data, and is then re-interleaved before beingencoded in the frame. This maintains the order and contiguity of thebitstream, and produces a separate contiguous block of interleavedredundancy data which is placed at the end of the extended frame. TheKip interleaving scheme is defined in detail below.

Kip Reed-Solomon codes have the primitive polynomials given in thefollowing table:

Symbol size Primitive (m) polynomial 3 1011 4 10011 5 100101 6 1000011 710000011 8 101110001 9 1000010001 10 10000001001 11 100000000101 121000001010011 13 10000000011011 14 100000001010011

The entries in the table indicate the coefficients of the primitivepolynomial with the highest-order coefficient on the left. Thus theprimitive polynomial for m=4 is:

p(x)=x ⁴ +x+1  (EQ 17)

Kip Reed-Solomon codes have the following generator polynomials:

$\begin{matrix}{{g(x)} = {{\left( {x + \alpha} \right)\left( {x + \alpha^{2}} \right)\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} \left( {x + \alpha^{2t}} \right)} = {\prod\limits_{i = 1}^{2t}\; \left( {x + \alpha^{i}} \right)}}} & \left( {{EQ}\mspace{14mu} 18} \right)\end{matrix}$

For the purposes of interleaving, the source data D is partitioned intoa sequence of m-bit symbols and padded on the right with zero bits toyield a sequence of u symbols, consisting of an integer multiple s of ksymbols, where s is the number of codewords:

u=s×k  (EQ 19)

D={D ₀ , . . . , D _(u−1)}  (EQ20)

Each symbol in this sequence is then mapped to a corresponding (i^(th))symbol d_(w,i) Of an interleaved codeword w:

d _(w,l) =D _((l×s)+w)  (EQ21)

The resultant interleaved data symbols are illustrated in FIG. 128. Notethat this is an in situ mapping of the source data to codewords, not are-arrangement of the source data.

The symbols of each codeword are de-interleaved prior to encoding thecodeword, and the resultant redundancy symbols are re-interleaved toform the redundancy block. The resultant interleaved redundancy symbolsare illustrated in FIG. 129.

General Netpage Description

Netpage interactivity can be used to provide printed user interfaces tovarious phone functions and applications, such as enabling particularoperational modes of the mobile telecommunications device or interactingwith a calculator application, as well as providing general “keypad”,“keyboard” and “tablet” input to the mobile telecommunications device.Such interfaces can be pre-printed and bundled with a phone, purchasedseparately (as a way of customizing phone operation, similar toringtones and themes) or printed on demand where the phone incorporatesa printer.

A printed Netpage business card provides a good example of how a varietyof functions can be usefully combined in a single interface, including:

-   -   loading contact details into an address book    -   displaying a Web page    -   displaying an image    -   dialing a contact number    -   bringing up an e-mail, SMS or MMS form    -   loading location info into a navigation system    -   activating a promotion or special offer

Any of these functions can be made single-use only.

A business card may be printed by the mobile telecommunications deviceuser for presentation to someone else, or may be printed from a Web pagerelating to a business for the mobile telecommunications device user'sown use. It may also be pre-printed.

As described below, the primary benefit of incorporating a Netpagepointer or pen in another device is synergy. A Netpage pointer or penincorporated in a mobile phone, smartphone or telecommunications-enabledPDA, for example, allows the device to act as both a Netpage pointer andas a relay between the pointer and the mobile phone network and hence aNetpage server. When the pointer is used to interact with a page, thetarget application of the interaction can display information on thephone display and initiate further interaction with the user via thephone touchscreen. The pointer is most usefully configured so that its“nib” is in a corner of the phone body, allowing the user to easilymanipulate the phone to designate a tagged surface.

The phone can incorporate a marking nib and optionally a continuousforce sensor to provide full Netpage pen functionality.

An exemplary Netpage interaction will now be described to show how asensing device in the form of a Netpage enabled mobile device interactswith the coded data on a print medium in the form of a card. Whilst inthe preferred form the print medium is a card generated by the mobiledevice or another mobile device, it can also be a commerciallypre-printed card that is purchased or otherwise provided as part of acommercial transaction. The print medium can also be a page of a book,magazine, newspaper or brochure, for example.

The mobile device senses a tag using an area image sensor and detectstag data. The mobile device uses the sensed data tag to generateinteraction data, which is sent via a mobile telecommunications networkto a document server. The document server uses the ID to access thedocument description, and interpret the interaction. In appropriatecircumstances, the document server sends a corresponding message to anapplication server, which can then perform a corresponding action.

Typically Netpage pen and Netpage-enabled mobile device users registerwith a registration server, which associates the user with an identifierstored in the respective Netpage pen or Netpage enabled mobile device.By providing the sensing device identifier as part of the interactiondata, this allows users to be identified, allowing transactions or thelike to be performed.

Netpage documents are generated by having an ID server generate an IDwhich is transferred to the document server. The document serverdetermines a document description and then records an associationbetween the document description and the ID, to allow subsequentretrieval of the document description using the ID.

The ID is then used to generate the tag data, as will be described inmore detail below, before the document is printed by a suitable printer,using the page description and the tag map.

Each tag is represented by a pattern which contains two kinds ofelements. The first kind of element is a target. Targets allow a tag tobe located in an image of a coded surface, and allow the perspectivedistortion of the tag to be inferred. The second kind of element is amacrodot. Each macrodot encodes the value of a bit by its presence orabsence.

The pattern is represented on the coded surface in such a way as toallow it to be acquired by an optical imaging system, and in particularby an optical system with a narrowband response in the near-infrared.The pattern is typically printed onto the surface using a narrowbandnear-infrared ink.

In the preferred embodiment, the region typically corresponds to theentire surface of an M-Print card, and the region ID corresponds to theunique M-Print card ID. For clarity in the following discussion we referto items and IDs, with the understanding that the ID corresponds to theregion ID.

The surface coding is designed so that an acquisition field of viewlarge enough to guarantee acquisition of an entire tag is large enoughto guarantee acquisition of the ID of the region containing the tag.Acquisition of the tag itself guarantees acquisition of the tag'stwo-dimensional position within the region, as well as othertag-specific data. The surface coding therefore allows a sensing deviceto acquire a region ID and a tag position during a purely localinteraction with a coded surface, e.g. during a “click” or tap on acoded surface with a pen.

Example Tag Structure

A wide range of different tag structures (as described in the assignee'svarious cross-referenced Netpage applications) can be used. Thepreferred tag will now be described in detail.

FIG. 130 shows the structure of a complete tag 1400. Each of the fourblack circles 1402 is a target. The tag 1400, and the overall pattern,has four-fold rotational symmetry at the physical level. Each squareregion 1404 represents a symbol, and each symbol represents four bits ofinformation.

FIG. 131 shows the structure of a symbol. It contains four macrodots1406, each of which represents the value of one bit by its presence(one) or absence (zero). The macrodot spacing is specified by theparameter s throughout this document. It has a nominal value of 143 μm,based on 9 dots printed at a pitch of 1600 dots per inch. However, it isallowed to vary by ±10% according to the capabilities of the device usedto produce the pattern.

FIG. 132 shows an array of nine adjacent symbols. The macrodot spacingis uniform both within and between symbols.

FIG. 133 shows the ordering of the bits within a symbol. Bit zero (b0)is the least significant within a symbol; bit three (b3) is the mostsignificant. Note that this ordering is relative to the orientation ofthe symbol. The orientation of a particular symbol within the tag 1400is indicated by the orientation of the label of the symbol in the tagdiagrams. In general, the orientation of all symbols within a particularsegment of the tag have the same orientation, consistent with the bottomof the symbol being closest to the centre of the tag.

Only the macrodots 1406 are part of the representation of a symbol inthe pattern. The square outline 1404 of a symbol is used in thisdocument to more clearly elucidate the structure of a tag 1400. FIG.134, by way of illustration, shows the actual pattern of a tag 1400 withevery bit set. Note that, in practice, every bit of a tag 1400 can neverbe set.

A macrodot 1406 is nominally circular with a nominal diameter of (5/9)s.However, it is allowed to vary in size by ±10% according to thecapabilities of the device used to produce the pattern.

A target 1402 is nominally circular with a nominal diameter of (17/9)s.However, it is allowed to vary in size by ±10% according to thecapabilities of the device used to produce the pattern.

The tag pattern is allowed to vary in scale by up to ±10% according tothe capabilities of the device used to produce the pattern. Anydeviation from the nominal scale is recorded in the tag data to allowaccurate generation of position samples.

Each symbol shown in the tag structure in FIG. 130 has a unique label.Each label consists an alphabetic prefix and a numeric suffix.

Tag Group

Tags are arranged into tag groups. Each tag group contains four tagsarranged in a square. Each tag therefore has one of four possible tagtypes according to its location within the tag group square. The tagtypes are labelled 00, 10, 01 and 11, as shown in FIG. 135.

FIG. 136 shows how tag groups are repeated in a continuous tiling oftags. The tiling guarantees the any set of four adjacent tags containsone tag of each type.

Codewords

The tag contains four complete codewords. Each codeword is of apunctured 2⁴-ary (8,5) Reed-Solomon code. Two of the codewords areunique to the tag. These are referred to as local and are labelled A andB. The tag therefore encodes up to 40 bits of information unique to thetag.

The remaining two codewords are unique to a tag type, but common to alltags of the same type within a contiguous tiling of tags. These arereferred to as global and are labelled C and D, subscripted by tag type.A tag group therefore encodes up to 160 bits of information common toall tag groups within a contiguous tiling of tags. The layout of thefour codewords is shown in FIG. 137.

Reed-Solomon Encoding

Codewords are encoded using a punctured 2⁴-ary (8,5) Reed-Solomon code.A 2⁴-ary (8,5) Reed-Solomon code encodes 20 data bits (i.e. five 4-bitsymbols) and 12 redundancy bits (i.e. three 4-bit symbols) in eachcodeword. Its error-detecting capacity is three symbols. Itserror-correcting capacity is one symbol. More information aboutReed-Solomon encoding in the Netpage context is provide in U.S. Ser. No.10/815,647 (Docket No. HYG001US), filed on Apr. 2, 2004, the contents ofwhich are herein incorporated by cross-reference.

Netpage in a Mobile Environment

FIG. 138 provides an overview of the architecture of the Netpage system,incorporating local and remote applications and local and remote Netpageservers. The generic Netpage system is described extensively in many ofthe assignee's patents and co-pending applications, (such as U.S. Ser.No. 09/722,174 (Docket No. NPA081US), and so is not described in detailhere. However, a number of extensions and alterations to the genericNetpage system are used as part of implementing various Netpage-basedfunctions into a mobile device. This applies both to Netpage-relatedsensing of coded data on a print medium being printed (or about to beprinted) and to a Netpage-enabled mobile device with or without aprinter.

Referring to FIG. 138, a Netpage microserver 790 running on the mobilephone 1 provides a constrained set of Netpage functions oriented towardsinterpreting clicks rather than interpreting general digital ink. Whenthe microserver 790 accepts a click event from the pointer driver 718 itinterprets it in the usual Netpage way. This includes retrieving thepage description associated with the click impression ID, and hittesting the click location against interactive elements in a pagedescription. This may result in the microserver identifying a commandelement and sending the command to the application specified by thecommand element. This functionality is described in many of the earlierNetpage applications cross-referenced above.

The target application may be a local application 792 or a remoteapplication 700 accessible via the network 788. The microserver 790 maydeliver a command to a running application or may cause the applicationto be launched if not already running.

If the microserver 790 receives a click for an unknown impression ID,then it uses the impression ID to identify a network-based Netpageserver 798 capable of handling the click, and forwards the click to thatserver for interpretation. The Netpage server 798 may be on a privateintranet accessible to the mobile telecommunications device, or may beon the public Internet.

For a known impression ID the microserver 790 may interact directly witha remote application 700 rather than via the Netpage server 798.

In the event that the mobile device includes a printer 4, an optionalprinting server 796 is provided. The printing server 796 runs on themobile phone 1 and accepts printing requests from remote applicationsand Netpage servers. When the printing server accepts a printing requestfrom an untrusted application, it may require the application to presenta single-use printing token previously issued by the mobiletelecommunications device.

A display server 704 running on the mobile telecommunications deviceaccepts display requests from remote applications and Netpage servers.When the display server 704 accepts a display request from an untrustedapplication, it may require the application to present a single-usedisplay token previously issued by the mobile telecommunications device.The display server 704 controls the mobile telecommunications devicedisplay 750.

As illustrated in FIG. 139, the mobile telecommunications device may actas a relay for a Netpage stylus, pen, or other Netpage input device 708.If the microserver 790 receives digital ink for an unknown impressionID, then it uses the impression ID to identify a network-based Netpageserver 798 capable of handling the digital ink, and forwards the digitalink to that server for interpretation.

Although not required to, the microserver 790 can be configured to havesome capability for interpreting digital ink. For example, it may becapable of interpreting digital ink associated with checkboxes anddrawings fields only, or it may be capable of performing rudimentarycharacter recognition, or it may be capable of performing characterrecognition with the help of a remote server.

The microserver can also be configured to enable routing of digital inkcaptured via a Netpage “tablet” to the mobile telecommunications deviceoperating system. A Netpage tablet may be a separate surface,pre-printed or printed on demand, or it may be an overlay or underlay onthe mobile telecommunications device display.

The Netpage pointer incorporates the same image sensor and imageprocessing ASIC (referred to as “Jupiter”, and described in detailbelow) developed for and used by the Netpage pen. Jupiter responds to acontact switch by activating an illumination LED and capturing an imageof a tagged surface. It then notifies the mobile telecommunicationsdevice processor of the “click”. The Netpage pointer incorporates asimilar optical design to the Netpage pen, but ideally with a smallerform factor. The smaller form factor is achieved with a moresophisticated multi-lens design, as described below.

Obtaining Media Information Directly from Netpage Tags

Media information can be obtained directly from the Netpage tags. It hasthe advantage that no data track is required, or only a minimal datatrack is required, since the Netpage identifier and digital signaturesin particular can be obtained from the Netpage tag pattern.

The Netpage tag sensor is capable of reading a tag pattern from asnapshot image. This has the advantage that the image can be captured asthe card enters the paper path, before it engages the transportmechanism, and even before the printer controller is activated, ifnecessary.

A Netpage tag sensor capable of reading tags as the media enters orpasses through the media feed path is described in detail in the NetpageClicker sub-section below (see FIGS. 140 and 141).

Conversely, the advantage of reading the tag pattern during transport(either during a reading phase or during the printing phase), is thatthe printer can obtain exact information about the lateral andlongitudinal registration between the Netpage tag pattern and the visualcontent printed by the printer. Whilst a single captured image of a tagcan be used to determine registration in either or both directions, itis preferred to determine the registration based on at least twocaptured images. The images can be captured sequentially by a singlesensor, or two sensors can capture them simultaneously or sequentially.Various averaging approaches can be taken to determine a more accurateposition in either or both direction from two or more captured imagesthan would be available by replying on a single image.

If the tag pattern can be rotated with respect to the printhead, eitherdue to the manufacturing tolerances of the card itself or tolerances inthe paper path, it is advantageous to read the tag pattern to determinethe rotation. The printer can then report the rotation to the Netpageserver, which can record it and use it when it eventually interpretsdigital ink captured via the card. Whilst a single captured image of atag can be used to determine the rotation, it is preferred to determinethe rotation based on at least two captured images. The images can becaptured sequentially by a single sensor, or two sensors can capturethem simultaneously or sequentially. Various averaging approaches can betaken to determine a more accurate rotation from two or more capturedimages than would be available by replying on a single image.

Netpage Options

The following media coding options relate to the Netpage tags. Netpageis described in more detail in a later section.

Netpage Tag Orientation

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine, possibly priorto commencing printing, the orientation of Netpage tags on the card inrelation to the printhead. This allows the printer to rotate pagegraphics to match the orientation of the Netpage tags on the card, priorto commencing printing. It also allows the printer to report theorientation of the Netpage tags on the card for recording by a Netpageserver.

Netpage Tag Position

If lateral and longitudinal registration and motion tracking, asdiscussed above, is achieved by means other than via the media coding,then any misregistration between the media coding itself and the printedcontent, either due to manufacturing tolerances in the card itself ordue to paper path tolerances in the printer, can manifest themselves asa lateral and/or longitudinal registration error between the Netpagetags and the printed content. This in turn can lead to a degraded userexperience. For example, if the zone of a hyperlink may fail to registeraccurately with the visual representation of the hyperlink.

As discussed above in relation to card position, the media coding canprovide the basis for accurate lateral and longitudinal registration andmotion tracking of the media coding itself, and the printer can reportthis registration to the Netpage server alongside the Netpageidentifier. The Netpage server can record this registration informationas a two-dimensional offset which corrects for any deviation between thenominal and actual registration, and correct any digital ink capturedvia the card accordingly, before interpretation.

Netpage Identity

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine the unique96-bit Netpage identifier of the card. This allows the printer to reportthe Netpage identifier of the card for recording by a Netpage server(which associates the printed graphics and input description with theidentity).

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine the uniqueNetpage identifier of the card from either side of the card. This allowsprinter designers the flexibility of reading the Netpage identifier fromthe most convenient side of the card.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine if it is anauthorised Netpage card. This allows the printer to not perform theNetpage association step for an un-authorised card, effectivelydisabling its Netpage interactivity. This prevents a forged card frompreventing the use of a valid card with the same Netpage identifier.

The card can be coded to allow the printer to determine both the Netpageidentifier and a unique digital signature associated with the Netpageidentifier. This allows the printer to prevent forgery using a digitalsignature verification mechanism already in place for the purpose ofcontrolling interactions with Netpage media.

Netpage Interactivity

Substantially all the front side of the card can be coded with Netpagetags to allow a Netpage sensing device to interact with the cardsubsequent to printing. This allows the printer to print interactiveNetpage content without having to include a tag printing capability. Ifthe back side of the card is blank and printable, then substantially theentire back side of the card can be coded with Netpage tags to allow aNetpage sensing device to interact with the card subsequent to printing.This allows the printer to print interactive Netpage content withouthaving to include a tag printing capability.

The back side of the card can be coded with Netpage tags to allow aNetpage sensing device to interact with the card. This allowsinteractive Netpage content to be pre-printed on the back of the card.

Cryptography BACKGROUND

Blank media designed for use with the preferred embodiment are pre-codedto satisfy a number of requirements, supporting motion sensing andNetpage interactivity, and protecting against forgery.

The following section describes authentication mechanisms that can beused to detect and reject forged or un-coded blank media. Forged orun-coded media are hereafter referred to as invalid media.

The need for protection against invalid media derives from a number ofrequirements. Only genuine media are guaranteed to maximize printquality, since color management is closely tied to actual mediacharacteristics. Rejecting invalid media therefore ensures that printquality is maximized. Conversely, print quality guarantees cannot bemade for invalid media.

Netpage interactivity is a fundamental property of print media in thepreferred embodiment. Rejecting invalid media ensures that Netpageinteractivity is properly enabled, i.e. that a valid and unique Netpagetag pattern is always present.

Media identification and authentication can also be used to controlmedia expiry, e.g. for quality control purposes.

A medium, once printed, can act as a secure token which provides theholder of the medium with privileged access to information associatedwith the medium. For example, the medium may bear a printout of a photo,and the medium may then act as a token that gives the holder access to adigital image corresponding to the photo.

This mechanisms described in this document can also be used toauthenticate media as secure tokens.

Media Identifier and Digital Signatures

In the preferred embodiment, media coding includes a unique mediaidentifier and two digital signatures associated with the mediaidentifier. The digital signatures are described in detail below. Themedia identifier and the digital signatures are encoded in both theNetpage tag pattern, as described below, and in the data track, ifpresent.

The short digital signature is a digital signature associated with themedia identifier in a way known only to an authentication server. Forexample, the short signature may be a random number explicitly recordedby the authentication server, indexed by the media identifier. The shortdigital signature must therefore be authenticated by the server.

The long digital signature is a public-key digital signature of themedia identifier. The media identifier is optionally padded with arandom number before being signed. The public-key digital signature canbe authenticated without reference to the authentication server, so longas the authenticator is in possession of the publicly-available publickey associated with the media identifier. The padding can beauthenticated with reference to the server, if desired.

The short and long signatures may also be used in combination.

When a blank pre-coded medium is duplicated exactly, it results in acopy which cannot be identified as a forgery per se. However, bytracking the production, movement and/or usage of media identifiers, theauthentication server can detect multiple uses of the same mediaidentifier and reject such uses as probably fraudulent. Since a forgeris unable to guess valid digital signatures for novel (i.e. un-seen)media identifiers, rejection of duplicates does not penalize users ofvalid media.

Authentication during Printing

An M-Print printing device is configured to obtain the media identifierand one or both of the digital signatures before, during or aftercompletion of printing. The M-Print device obtains this information fromthe Netpage tag pattern and/or the data track, if present.

The M-Print device can use the information to authenticate the medium.It can authenticate the media identifier and short signature by queryingthe authentication server, or it can authenticate the media identifierand long signature locally if it is already in possession of theappropriate public key. It can obtain a public key associated with arange of media identifiers the first time it encounters a mediaidentifier in the range, and can then cache the public key locally forfuture use, indexed by range. It can flush the cache at any time toregain space, e.g. on a least-recently-used or least-frequently-usedbasis. It can obtain the public key from the authentication serveritself or from any other trusted source.

If the M-Print device is unable to authenticate the medium before orduring printing, then it can abort printing to prevent use of themedium. If it is only able to authenticate the medium after printing,then it can still provide the user with feedback indicating that themedium is a forgery.

If the M-Print device fails to obtain coded information from the mediumat all, then it can abort printing and/or signal to the user that themedium is invalid.

If the source of printed content is network-based, and the M-Printdevice itself is not trusted, then the server which is providing theprinted content can predicate delivery of that content on mediaauthentication. I.e. the medium itself can act as a secure token forenabling printing.

Authentication during Netpage Interaction

A Netpage pointing device (such as an M-Print device incorporating aNetpage pointer), when tapped on (or swiped over) a Netpage-enabledmedium such as a printed M-Print medium, is configured to obtain themedia identifier and one or both of the digital signatures from theNetpage tag pattern.

The device is thereby able to authenticate the medium, using themechanisms described earlier, should it need to do so.

More importantly, it is able to prove to a Netpage server that it isbeing used to interact with a valid medium by providing the server witha copy of the media identifier and one or both of the digital signatures(or fragments thereof). The server is thereby able to authenticate themedium, and is therefore able to reject attempted interactions with aninvalid medium. For example, it is able to reject an attempt to downloadthe digital image associated with a printed photo, preventing fraudulentaccess to photo images based on merely guessing valid media identifiers.

A medium, once printed, can act as a secure token which provides theholder of the medium with privileged access to information associatedwith the medium. For example, the medium may bear a printout of a photo,and the medium may then act as a token that gives the holder access to adigital image corresponding to the photo.

This mechanisms described in this document can also be used toauthenticate media as secure tokens.

Security in M-Print in Mobile Netpage Contexts

As described above, authentication relies on verifying thecorrespondence between data and a signature of that data. The greaterthe difficulty in forging a signature, the greater the trustworthinessof signature-based authentication.

The Netpage ID is unique and therefore provides a basis for a signature.If online authentication access is assumed, then the signature maysimply be a random number associated with the ID in an authenticationdatabase accessible to the trusted online authenticator. The randomnumber may be generated by any suitable method, such as via adeterministic (pseudo-random) algorithm, or via a stochastic physicalprocess. A keyed hash or encrypted hash may be preferable to a randomnumber since it requires no additional space in the authenticationdatabase. However, a random signature of the same length as a keyedsignature is more secure than the keyed signature since it is notsusceptible to key attacks. Equivalently, a shorter random signatureconfers the same security as a longer keyed signature.

In the limit case no signature is actually required, since the merepresence of the ID in the database indicates authenticity. However, theuse of a signature limits a forger to forging items he has actuallysighted.

To prevent forgery of a signature for an unsighted ID, the signaturemust be large enough to make exhaustive search via repeated accesses tothe online authenticator intractable. If the signature is generatedusing a key rather than randomly, then its length must also be largeenough to prevent the forger from deducing the key from knownID-signature pairs. Signatures of a few hundred bits are consideredsecure, whether generated using private or secret keys.

While it may be practical to include a reasonably secure randomsignature in a tag (or local tag group), particularly if the length ofthe ID is reduced to provide more space for the signature, it may beimpractical to include a secure ID-derived signature in a tag. Tosupport a secure ID-derived signature, we can instead distributefragments of the signature across multiple tags. If each fragment can beverified in isolation against the ID, then the goal of supportingauthentication without increasing the sensing device field of view isachieved. The security of the signature can still derive from the fulllength of the signature rather than from the length of a fragment, sincea forger cannot predict which fragment a user will randomly choose toverify. A trusted authenticator can always perform fragment verificationsince they have access to the key and/or the full stored signature, sofragment verification is always possible when online access to a trustedauthenticator is available.

Fragment verification requires that we prevent brute force attacks onindividual fragments, otherwise a forger can determine the entiresignature by attacking each fragment in turn. A brute force attack canbe prevented by throttling the authenticator on a per-ID basis. However,if fragments are short, then extreme throttling is required. As analternative to throttling the authenticator, the authenticator caninstead enforce a limit on the number of verification requests it iswilling to respond to for a given fragment number. Even if the limit ismade quite small, it is unlikely that a normal user will exhaust it fora given fragment, since there will be many fragments available and theactual fragment chosen by the user can vary. Even a limit of one can bepractical. More generally, the limit should be proportional to the sizeof the fragment, i.e. the smaller the fragment the smaller the limit.Thus the experience of the user would be somewhat invariant of fragmentsize. Both throttling and enforcing fragment verification limits implyserialisation of requests to the authenticator. A fragment verificationlimit need only be imposed once verification fails, i.e. an unlimitednumber of successful verifications can occur before the first failure.Enforcing fragment verification limits further requires theauthenticator to maintain a per-fragment count of satisfied verificationrequests.

A brute force attack can also be prevented by concatenating the fragmentwith a random signature encoded in the tag. While the random signaturecan be thought of as protecting the fragment, the fragment can also bethought of as simply increasing the length of the random signature andhence increasing its security. A fragment verification limit can makeverification subject to a denial of service attack, where an attackerdeliberately exceeds the limit with invalid verification request inorder to prevent further verification of the ID in question. This can beprevented by only enforcing the fragment verification limit for afragment when the accompanying random signature is correct.

Fragment verification may be made more secure by requiring theverification of a minimum number of fragments simultaneously.

Fragment verification requires fragment identification. Fragments may beexplicitly numbered, or may more economically be identified by thetwo-dimensional coordinate of their tag, modulo the repetition of thesignature across a continuous tiling of tags.

The limited length of the ID itself introduces a further vulnerability.Ideally it should be at least a few hundred bits. In the Netpage surfacecoding scheme it is 96 bits or less. To overcome this, the ID may bepadded. For this to be effective the padding must be variable, i.e. itmust vary from one ID to the next. Ideally the padding is simply arandom number, and must then be stored in the authentication databaseindexed by ID. If the padding is deterministically generated from the IDthen it is worthless.

Offline authentication of secret-key signatures requires the use of atrusted offline authentication device. The QA chip (which is the subjectof a number of U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,858 (DocketNo. AUTH02US); U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,946 (Docket No. AUTH04US); U.S. Pat.No. 6,246,970 (Docket No. AUTH05US); U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,525 (Docket No.AUTH06US), all filed on Jun. 8, 1998 provides the basis for such adevice, although of limited capacity. The QA chip can be programmed toverify a signature using a secret key securely held in its internalmemory. In this scenario, however, it is impractical to support per-IDpadding, and it is impractical even to support more than a very fewsecret keys. Furthermore, a QA chip programmed in this manner issusceptible to a chosen-message attack. These constraints limit theapplicability of a QA-chip-based trusted offline authentication deviceto niche applications.

In general, despite the claimed security of any particular trustedoffline authentication device, creators of secure items are likely to bereluctant to entrust their secret signature keys to such devices, andthis is again likely to limit the applicability of such devices to nicheapplications (although such niche applications are still important).

By contrast, offline authentication of public-key signatures (i.e.generated using the corresponding private keys) is highly practical. Anoffline authentication device utilising public keys can trivially holdany number of public keys, and may be designed to retrieve additionalpublic keys on demand, via a transient online connection, when itencounters an ID for which it knows it has no corresponding publicsignature key. Untrusted offline authentication is likely to beattractive to most creators of secure items, since they are able toretain exclusive control of their private signature keys.

A disadvantage of offline authentication of a public-key signature isthat the entire signature must be acquired from the coding, which is atodds with the general desire to support authentication with a minimalfield of view. A corresponding advantage of offline authentication of apublic-key signature is that access to the ID padding is no longerrequired, since decryption of the signature using the public signaturekey generates both the ID and its padding, and the padding can then beignored. A forger can not take advantage of the fact that the padding isignored during offline authentication, since the padding is not ignoredduring online authentication.

Acquisition of an entire distributed signature is not particularlyonerous. Any random or linear swipe of a hand-held sensing device acrossa coded surface allows it to quickly acquire all of the fragments of thesignature. The sensing device can easily be programmed to signal theuser when it has acquired a full set of fragments and has completedauthentication. The device may be programmed to only performauthentication when the tags indicate the presence of a signature.

The need for swiping is of less concern in the context of authenticatinga print medium prior to or during printing with the preferred embodimentof a mobile device incorporating a printer. In the preferred form, theprint medium is inserted into a media feed path for printing. Eitherduring this insertion, or subsequently while the print medium is beingmoved by the device's drive mechanism, a sensing device can read aseries of tags sufficient to obtain all the required signaturefragments.

Although the use of authentication has been described with reference toNetpage tags, similar principles can be applied to the linear encodingscheme (or any other encoding scheme) used to encode data on pre-printedprint media.

Note that a public-key signature may be authenticated online via any ofits fragments in the same way as any signature, whether generatedrandomly or using a secret key. The trusted online authenticator maygenerate the signature on demand using the private key and ID padding,or may store the signature explicitly in the authentication database.The latter approach obviates the need to store the ID padding.

Note also that signature-based authentication may be used in place offragment-based authentication even when online access to a trustedauthenticator is available.

Table 13 provides a summary of which signature schemes are workableusing the coded data structures in the preferred encoding scheme. Itwill be appreciated that these limitations do not apply to all encodingschemes that can be used with the invention.

Encoding Acquisition Signature Online Offline in tags from tagsgeneration authentication authentication Local full random okImpractical to store per ID information secret key Signature too shortUndesirable to store secret to be secure keys private Signature tooshort key to be secure Distributed fragment(s) random ok impractical^(b)secret key ok impractical^(c) private ok impractical^(b) key full randomok impractical^(b) secret key ok impractical^(c) private ok ok key Key:^(a)It is impractical to store per-ID information in the offlineauthentication device ^(b)The signature is too short to be secure.^(c)It is undesirable to store secret keys in the offline authenticationdevice.

Cryptographic Algorithms

When the public-key signature is authenticated offline, the user'sauthentication device typically does not have access to the padding usedwhen the signature was originally generated. The signature verificationstep must therefore decrypt the signature to allow the authenticationdevice to compare the ID in the signature with the ID acquired from thetags. This precludes the use of algorithms which don't perform thesignature verification step by decrypting the signature, such as thestandard Digital Signature Algorithm U.S. Department ofCommerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology, DigitalSignature Standard (DSS), FIPS 186-2, 27 Jan. 2000.

RSA encryption is described in:

-   Rivest, R. L., A. Shamir, and L. Adleman, “A Method for Obtaining    Digital Signatures and Public-Key Cryptosystems”, Communications of    the ACM, Vol. 21, No. 2, February 1978, pp. 120-126-   Rivest, R. L., A. Shamir, and L. M. Adleman, “Cryptographic    communications system and method”, U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829, issued    20 Sep. 1983-   RSA Laboratories, PKCS #1 v2.0: RSA Encryption Standard, Oct. 1,    1998

RSA provides a suitable public-key digital signature algorithm thatdecrypts the signature. RSA provides the basis for the ANSI X9.31digital signature standard American National Standards Institute, ANSIX9.31-1998, Digital Signatures Using Reversible Public Key Cryptographyfor the Financial Services Industry (rDSA), Sep. 8, 1998. If no paddingis used, then any public-key signature algorithm can be used.

In the preferred Netpage surface coding scheme the ID is 96 bits long orless. It is padded to 160 bits prior to being signed.

The padding is ideally generated using a truly random process, such as aquantum process, or by distilling randomness from random events. Formore information on these issues, see Schneier, B., AppliedCryptography, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons 1996.

In the preferred Netpage surface coding scheme the random signature, orsecret, is 36 bits long or less. It is also ideally generated using atruly random process. If a longer random signature is required, then thelength of the ID in the surface coding can be reduced to provideadditional space for the signature.

Authentication

Each object ID has a signature. Limited space within the preferred tagstructure makes it impractical to include a full cryptographic signaturein a tag so signature fragments are distributed across multiple tags. Asmaller random signature, or secret, can be included in a tag.

To avoid any vulnerability due to the limited length of the object ID,the object ID is padded, ideally with a random number. The padding isstored in an authentication database indexed by object ID. Theauthentication database may be managed by the manufacturer, or it may bemanaged by a third-party trusted authenticator.

Each tag contains a signature fragment and each fragment (or a subset offragments) can be verified, in isolation, against the object ID. Thesecurity of the signature still derives from the full length of thesignature rather than from the length of the fragment, since a forgercannot predict which fragment a user will randomly choose to verify.

Fragment verification requires fragment identification. Fragments may beexplicitly numbered, or may by identified by the two-dimensionalcoordinate of their tag, modulo the repetition of the signature acrosscontinuous tiling of tags.

Note that a trusted authenticator can always perform fragmentverification, so fragment verification is always possible when on-lineaccess to a trusted authenticator is available.

Off-Line Public-Key-Based Authentication

An off-line authentication device utilises public-key signatures. Theauthentication device holds a number of public keys. The device may,optionally, retrieve additional public keys on demand, via a transienton-line connection when it encounters an object ID for which it has nocorresponding public key signature.

For off-line authentication, the entire signature is needed. Theauthentication device is swiped over the tagged surface and a number oftags are read. From this, the object ID is acquired, as well as a numberof signature fragments and their positions. The signature is thengenerated from these signature fragments. The public key is looked up,from the scanning device using the object ID. The signature is thendecrypted using the public key, to give an object ID and padding. If theobject ID obtained from the signature matches the object ID in the tagthen the object is considered authentic.

The off-line authentication method can also be used on-line, with thetrusted authenticator playing the role of authenticator.

On-Line Public-Key-Based Authentication

An on-line authentication device uses a trusted authenticator to verifythe authenticity of an object. For on-line authentication a single tagcan be all that is required to perform authentication. Theauthentication device scans the object and acquires one or more tags.From this, the object ID is acquired, as well as at least one signaturefragment and its position. The fragment number is generated from thefragment position. The appropriate trusted authenticator is looked up bythe object ID. The object ID, signature fragment, and fragment numberare sent to the trusted authenticator.

The trusted authenticator receives the data and retrieves the signaturefrom the authentication database by object ID. This signature iscompared with the supplied fragment, and the authentication result isreported to the user.

On-Line Secret-Based Authentication

Alternatively or additionally, if a random signature or secret isincluded in each tag (or tag group), then this can be verified withreference to a copy of the secret accessible to a trusted authenticator.Database setup then includes allocating a secret for each object, andstoring it in the authentication database, indexed by object ID.

The authentication device scans the object and acquires one or moretags. From this, the object ID is acquired, as well as the secret. Theappropriate trusted authenticator is looked up by the object ID. Theobject ID and secret are sent to the trusted authenticator.

The trusted authenticator receives the data and retrieves the secretfrom the authentication database by object ID. This secret is comparedwith the supplied secret, and the authentication result is reported tothe user.

Secret-based authentication can be used in conjunction with on-linefragment-based authentication is discussed in more detail above.

Netpage Clicker

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 140 and141, in which the mobile device includes a Netpage clicker module 362.This embodiment includes a printer and uses a dual optical pathwayarrangement to sense coded data from media outside the mobile device aswell as coded data pre-printed on media as it passes through the devicefor printing.

The Netpage clicker in the preferred embodiment forms part of a dualoptical path Netpage sensing device. The first path is used in theNetpage clicker, and the second operates to read coded data from thecard as it enters the mobile telecommunications device for printing. Asdescribed below, the coded data on the card is read to ensure that thecard is of the correct type and quality to enable printing.

The Netpage clicker includes a non-marking nib 340 that exits the top ofthe mobile telecommunications device. The nib 340 is slidably mounted tobe selectively moveable between a retracted position, and an extendedposition by manual operation of a slider 342. The slider 342 is biasedoutwardly from the mobile telecommunications device, and includes aratchet mechanism (not shown) for retaining the nib 340 in the extendedposition. To retract the nib 340, the user depresses the slider 342,which disengages the ratchet mechanism and enables the nib 340 to returnto the retracted position. One end of the nib abuts a switch (notshown), which is operatively connected to circuitry on the PCB.

Working from one end of the first optical path to the other, a firstinfrared LED 344 is mounted to direct infrared light out of the mobiledevice via an aperture to illuminate an adjacent surface (not shown).Light reflected from the surface passes through an infrared filter 348,which improves the signal to noise ratio of the reflected light byremoving most non-infrared ambient light. The reflected light is focusedvia a pair of lenses 350 and then strikes a plate beam splitter 352. Itwill be appreciated that the beam splitter 352 can include one or morethin-film optical coatings to improve its performance.

A substantial portion of the light is deflected downwardly by the platesplitter and lands on an image sensor 346 that is mounted on the PCB.The image sensor 346 in the preferred embodiment takes the form of theJupiter image sensor and processor described in detail below. It will beappreciated that a variety of commercially available CCD and CMOS imagesensors would also be suitable.

The particular position of the nib, and orientation and position of thefirst optical path within the casing enables a user to interact withNetpage interactive documents as described elsewhere in the detaileddescription. These Netpage documents can include media printed by themobile device itself, as well as other media such as preprinted pages inbooks, magazines, newspapers and the like.

The second optical path starts with a second infrared LED 354, which ismounted to shine light onto a surface of a card 226 when it is insertedin the mobile telecommunications device for printing. The light isreflected from the card 226, and is turned along the optical path by afirst turning mirror 356 and a second turning mirror 358. The light thenpasses through an aperture 359 a lens 360 and the beam splitter 352 andlands on the image sensor 346.

The mobile device is configured such that both LEDs 344 and 354 turnedoff when a card is not being printed and the nib is not being used tosense coded data on an external surface. However, once the nib isextended and pressed onto a surface with sufficient force to close theswitch, the LED 344 is illuminated and the image sensor 346 commencescapturing images.

Although a non-marking nib has been described, a marking nib, such as aballpoint or felt-tip pen, can also be used. Where a marking nib isused, it is particularly preferable to provide the retraction mechanismto allow the nib to selectively be withdrawn into the casing.Alternatively, the nib can be fixed (ie, no retraction mechanism isprovided).

In other embodiments, the switch is simply omitted (and the deviceoperates continuously, preferably only when placed into a capture mode)or replaced with some other form of pressure sensor, such as apiezo-electric or semiconductor-based transducer. In one form, amulti-level or continuous pressure sensor is utilized, which enablescapture of the actual force of the nib against the writing surfaceduring writing. This information can be included with the positioninformation that comprises the digital ink generated by the device,which can be used in a manner described in detail in many of theassignee's cross-referenced Netpage-related applications. However, thisis an optional capability.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments a simple Netpagesensing device can also be included in a mobile device that does notincorporate a printer. FIGS. 85 to 87 shows an example of such aclicker, albeit in the context of a mobile device having a printer. Itwill be appreciated that in the embodiment of FIGS. 85 to 87, theNetpage clicker is entirely concerned with sensing coded data fromexternal Netpage documents.

In other embodiments, one or more of the turning mirrors can be replacedwith one or more prisms that rely on boundary reflection or silvered (orhalf silvered) surfaces to change the course of light through the firstor second optical paths. It is also possible to omit either of the firstor second optical paths, with corresponding removal of the capabilitiesoffered by those paths.

Image Sensor and Associated Processing Circuitry

In the preferred embodiment, the Netpage sensor is a monolithicintegrated circuit that includes an image sensor, analog to digitalconverter (ADC), image processor and interface, which are configured tooperate within a system including a host processor. The applicants havecodenamed the monolithic integrated circuit “Jupiter”. The image sensorand ADC are codenamed “Ganymede” and the image processor and interfaceare codenamed “Callisto”.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the image sensor isincorporated in a Jupiter image sensor as described in co-pendingapplication U.S. Ser. No. 10/778,056 (Docket No. NPS047US), filed onFeb. 17, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated herein bycross-reference.

Various alternative pixel designs suitable for incorporation in theJupiter image sensor are described in PCT application PCT/AU/02/01573entitled “Active Pixel Sensor”, filed 22 Nov. 2002; and PCT applicationPCT/AU02/01572 entitled “Sensing Device with Ambient LightMinimisation”, filed 22 Nov. 2002; the contents of which areincorporated herein by cross reference.

It should appreciated that the aggregation of particular components intofunctional or codenamed blocks is not necessarily an indication thatsuch physical or even logical aggregation in hardware is necessary forthe functioning of the present invention. Rather, the grouping ofparticular units into functional blocks is a matter of designconvenience in the particular preferred embodiment that is described.The intended scope of the present invention embodied in the detaileddescription should be read as broadly as a reasonable interpretation ofthe appended claims allows.

Image Sensor

Jupiter comprises an image sensor array, ADC (Analog to DigitalConversion) function, timing and control logic, digital interface to anexternal microcontroller, and implementation of some of thecomputational steps of machine vision algorithms.

FIG. 142 shows a system-level diagram of the Jupiter monolithicintegrated circuit 1601 and its relationship with a host processor 1602.Jupiter 1601 has two main functional blocks: Ganymede 1604 and Callisto1606. As described below, Ganymede comprises a sensor array 1612, ADC1614, timing and control logic 1616, clock multiplier PLL 1618, and biascontrol 1619. Callisto comprises the image processing, image buffermemory, and serial interface to a host processor. A parallel interface1608 links Ganymede 4 with Callisto 6, and a serial interface 1610 linksCallisto 1606 with the host processor 2.

The internal interfaces in Jupiter are used for communication among thedifferent internal modules.

Ganymede Image Sensor Features

-   -   Sensor array    -   8-bit digitisation of the sensor array output    -   Ddigital image output to Callisto    -   Clock multiplying PLL

As shown in FIG. 143, Ganymede 1604 comprises a sensor array 1612, anADC block 1614, a control and timing block 1616 and a clock-multiplyingphase lock loop (PLL) 1618 for providing an internal clock signal. Thesensor array 1612 comprises pixels 1620, a row decoder 1622, and acolumn decoder/MUX 1624. The ADC block 1614 includes an 8-bit ADC 26 anda programmable gain amplifier (PGA) 1628. The control and timing block1616 controls the sensor array 1612, the ADC 1614, and the PLL 1618, andprovides an interface to Callisto 1606.

Callisto

Callisto is an image processor 1625 designed to interface directly to amonochrome image sensor via a parallel data interface, optionallyperform some image processing and pass captured images to an externaldevice via a serial data interface.

Features

-   -   Parallel interface to image sensor    -   Frame store buffer to decouple parallel image sensor interface        and external serial interface    -   Double buffering of frame store data to eliminate buffer loading        overhead    -   Low pass filtering and sub-sampling of captured image    -   Local dynamic range expansion of sub-sampled image    -   Thresholding of the sub-sampled, range-expanded image    -   Read-out of pixels within a defined region of the captured        image, for both processed and unprocessed images    -   Calculation of sub-pixel values    -   Configurable image sensor timing interface    -   Configurable image sensor size    -   Configurable image sensor window    -   Power management: auto sleep and wakeup modes    -   External serial interface for image output and device management    -   External register interface for register management on external        devices

Environment

Callisto interfaces to both an image sensor, via a parallel interface,and to an external device, such as a microprocessor, via a serial datainterface. Captured image data is passed to Callisto across the paralleldata interface from the image sensor. Processed image data is passed tothe external device via the serial interface. Callisto's registers arealso set via the external serial interface.

Function

The Callisto image processing core accepts image data from an imagesensor and passes that data, either processed or unprocessed, to anexternal device using a serial data interface. The rate at which data ispassed to that external device is decoupled from whatever data read-outrates are imposed by the image sensor.

The image sensor data rate and the image data rate over the serialinterface are decoupled by using an internal RAM-based frame store.Image data from the sensor is written into the frame store at a rate tosatisfy image sensor read-out requirements. Once in the frame store,data can be read out and transmitted over the serial interface atwhatever rate is required by the device at the other end of thatinterface.

Callisto can optionally perform some image processing on the imagestored in its frame store, as dictated by user configuration. The usermay choose to bypass image processing and obtain access to theunprocessed image. Sub-sampled images are stored in a buffer but fullyprocessed images are not persistently stored in Callisto; fullyprocessed images are immediately transmitted across the serialinterface. Callisto provides several image process related functions:

-   -   Sub-sampling    -   Local dynamic range expansion    -   Thresholding    -   Calculation of sub-pixel values    -   Read-out of a defined rectangle from the processed and        unprocessed image

Sub-sampling, local dynamic range expansion and thresholding aretypically used in conjunction with dynamic range expansion performed onsub-sampled images, and thresholding performed on sub-sampled,range-expanded images. Dynamic range expansion and thresholding areperformed together, as a single operation, and can only be performed onsub-sampled images. Sub-sampling, however, may be performed withoutdynamic range expansion and thresholding. Retrieval of sub-pixel valuesand image region read-out are standalone functions.

Alternative Tag Sensor Arrangements

A number of specific alternative optics systems for implementing sensingof Netpage tags using the mobile device will now be described withreference to FIGS. 144 to 150.

Basic Two Dimensional Tag Image Sensor: FIG. 144 shows the basicconfiguration of a two-dimensional tag sensor for sensing tags on apre-tagged print medium prior to printing. A tag sensor ordinarilyincludes an image sensor 664, a focusing lens 666, an aperture 668 toensure adequate depth of field, an infrared filter 670 to eliminateambient light, and an infrared illumination source 669 that is strobedin synchrony with image capture. In the figure, the tag sensor is shownimaging the surface of a pre-tagged blank 670 to the left. The infraredfilter is not included in the configuration, on the assumption thatambient light can be adequately excluded from the print path. Imagecapture can be triggered by the detection of a print medium in the printpath.

Dual-Purpose 2D Tag Image Sensor: If the Netpage printer is incorporatedin a device which already includes a Netpage tag sensor, such as a pen,PDA or mobile device such as a phone, then it can be convenient tomultiplex the operation of the tag sensor between sensing taggedsurfaces designated by the user, and tagged blanks presented to theprinter. In the following discussion these two imaging modes arereferred to as external and internal imaging respectively.

FIG. 145 shows one possible configuration of a multiplexed tag sensor,with dual optical paths and a single image sensor 664. The tag sensor isshown imaging an external tagged surface 671, and the surface of apre-tagged blank print medium 672.

The internal optical path includes a first mirror 673 to allow it topoint in the opposite direction to the external optical path, and asecond mirror 674 (shown in plan) to allow it to image the print medium672. In the FIG. 145, the second mirror 674 reflects the optical axis ata right angle to the print medium, i.e. the mirror is nominally mountedat 45 degrees to the surface of the print medium, as shown in FIG. 144.

Each optical path incorporates its own aperture and lens arrangements675. The focal length of each lens can be selected according to thelength of its corresponding optical path. A larger aperture canpotentially be utilised in the internal optical path than in theexternal optical path, since shallower depth of field is acceptable.

Each optical path has its own infrared illumination source. When thefirst illumination source 677 is strobed in synchrony with exposure ofthe image sensor 664, the image sensor captures an image of the taggedsurface 671 designated by the user. When the second illumination source676 is strobed the image sensor captures an image of the pre-taggedblank print medium 672. External image capture can be triggered by auser-initiated “pen down” or “click” event. Internal image capture canbe triggered by the detection of a print medium in the print path.

Since both optical paths impinge on the image sensor at an angle, someloss of focus may occur unless corrected by the lenses. The inducedperspective distortion is automatically handled by the image processingand decoding algorithm.

Multiplexed tag sensor with beamsplitter: FIG. 146 shows a variation ofthe multiplexed tag sensor of FIG. 145, with a beam-splitter 678 forsplitting the optical path. Although the beam-splitter 678 is showndownstream of the aperture 675, it can be placed upstream of thefocusing lens if the two optical paths have substantially differentlengths.

Multiplexed tag sensor with beamsplitter and inline illumination: FIG.147 shows a variation of the multiplexed tag sensor of FIG. 146, withthe infrared illumination projected inline with the imaging path via thebeam-splitter 678. The IR filter 679 ideally has an anti-reflectivecoating to minimise reflection of the outgoing illumination.Alternatively, the IR filter 679 can be placed upstream of thebeamsplitter to avoid the problem of reflection altogether.

With a shared light source, selectively switching on one or the otherlight source can no longer be used to select one or the other imagingpath. Instead, a shutter 680 is introduced into the external imagingpath for this purpose. Provided the print path is non-reflective in theabsence of a print medium, there is no need to introduce a shutter intothe internal imaging path.

The external imaging shutter 680 can be electronically controlled ormechanically controlled. A mechanical shutter can be sprung so that itis naturally open, and the print path can include a lever which engageswith the print medium and is mechanically coupled to the shutter toclose it when the medium is present. Conversely, the shutter can besprung so that it is naturally closed, and the “nib” which the userpresses to a tagged surface to initiate external imaging can bemechanically coupled to the shutter to open it when the nib is pressedto the surface. An electromechanical shutter can consist of a pivotingbarrier or mirror mechanically coupled to an electromagnet. Anelectronic shutter can consist of a liquid-crystal device which can beelectronically switched between transparent and opaque states, or adigital micromirror device which can be switched between reflecting anddeflecting states. Although illustrated as a pivoting barrier in FIG.147, when the shutter utilises a mirror rather than a barrier, it ismounted in a normally reflecting position in the optical path.

If there is insufficient headroom above the print medium to accommodatethe full field of view cone, then the two mirrors can be used tocollimate and then re-expand the field of view cone. The first mirrorcan be concave in the direction normal to the surface of the printmedium in order to collimate the field of view cone, and the secondmirror can be convex in the same direction to re-expand it. The secondIR illumination source can similarly have a lens that collimates theillumination cone in the same direction. The second mirror can also betilted at less than 45 degrees to the surface of the print medium, andthe first mirror can be similarly tilted to effect field-flattening, asillustrated in FIG. 148.

Tilted mirror to reduce headroom: The effect of ambient light enteringthe tag sensor via the external optical path during imaging of the printmedium is a function of exposure time, the response of the IR filter,and the configuration of the external optical path in relation to itshost device. For example, if the external optical path exits the top ofthe host device, then it may encounter a bright light source, such asthe sun, in its field of view.

If ambient light is a problem, then the external optical path can beshuttered during imaging of the print medium. This can be achieved asdescribed above. Alternatively, a pivoting mirror can be used tomultiplex the optical path between external and internal imaging, asshown in FIGS. 149 and 150.

Multiplexed tag sensor with pivoting mirror in external imaging mode:FIG. 149 shows the tag sensor with a pivoting mirror 681 positioned forexternal imaging, while FIG. 150 shows the tag sensor with the mirrorpositioned for internal imaging.

The mirror can be electronically or mechanically controlled. Amechanical mirror can be sprung so that it is naturally in the externalimaging position, and the print path can include a lever that engageswith the print medium and is mechanically coupled to the mirror to pivotit to the internal imaging position when a print medium is present.Conversely, the mirror can be sprung so that it is naturally in theinternal imaging position, and the “nib” which the user presses to atagged surface to initiate external imaging can be mechanically coupledto the mirror to pivot it to the external imaging position when the nibis pressed to the surface. The mirror can also be coupled to anelectromagnet, which is activated to effect internal or externalimaging. An electronic mirror can consist of a digital micromirrordevice which can be switched between internal imaging and externalimaging reflecting states.

Multiplexed tag sensor with pivoting mirror, in internal imaging mode:Although the figures show the same side of the pivoting mirror beingused for both internal and external imaging, if, as discussed earlier,the pivoting mirror is required to collimate the field of view coneduring internal imaging, then opposite sides of the pivoting mirror canbe used for the two imaging modes, with external imaging mirror surfacebeing planar and the internal imaging mirror surface being concave inthe direction normal to the surface of the print medium.

Each of these configurations may utilise a monochrome CMOS image sensorwith an electronic shutter, or an intrinsically-shuttered CCD imagesensor.

Alternative Embodiment Personal Digital Assistant

The invention can also be embodied in a number of other form factors,one of which is a PDA as shown in FIGS. 151 to 160. Whilst theincreasing functionality of mobile phones means that there isconvergence between PDAs and mobile phones, PDAs are still differentenough, in general, from mobile phones to define a different market anda different set of requirements. For example, mobile phones aregenerally small enough to be carried around in a user's pocket and areused mainly for voice communication and short text messages. PDA-stylefunctionality (such as contact and appointment management) may beprovided, but small screen size (due to small form factor) and limitedcontrol interface options (again due to size issues) makes them lessconvenient than a full-size PDA with large screen and (often)touch-screen input functionality.

The present invention can be embodied in a PDA 300. The PDA 300 shares anumber of features and components with the mobile phone described above,and shared elements are indicated with like reference numerals. Anotable difference between the PDA 300 and the mobile phone 1 is thatthe print cartridge 148 is positioned horizontally near the top of thePDA (as best shown in FIGS. 154 and 158), rather than vertically alongone side as in the mobile phone. The cartridge 148 can be identical tothat used in the mobile phone, with the same media drive options.Alternatively, it may have a wider print width to take advantage of theadditional width of the PDA (and the overall space advantages offered bythe PDA's size).

Referring to FIG. 160, the PDA 300 also differs from the mobile phone inthat it provides a replaceable cassette 302 that holds a stack 304 ofthe print media. The print media can be the same size and shape as thatdescribed for use with the mobile phone, or can be larger, smaller, ofdifferent width or material, or have different coded data or advertisingmaterial pre-printed on it. The present description will assume,however, that the media is the same as that described for use in themobile phone embodiment.

As best shown in FIG. 160, the cassette 302 comprises a bottom moulding306, a spring 308, the stack 304 of (in the preferred embodiment) 20sheets of the print media and a top moulding 310. The bottom moulding306 includes clip formations 312 that snap into complementary apertures314 formed in the top moulding 310. The spring 308 includes fingers 316that engage the floor of the bottom moulding 306 and a support section318 that engages the media stack 304. The top moulding also includes anexit aperture 319 for allowing printed media to exit for printing.

The PDA has a larger display 138 than the mobile phone, and can use anysuitable display technology, such as OLED or TFT. It is particularlypreferred that the PDA incorporate a touch-sensitive display (or displayoverlay) that enables a user to interact with icons and otherinformation displayed on the display.

Referring to FIGS. 155 and 156, the Netpage sensor in the PDA 300 is amodified version of the arrangement described in relation to FIG. 145,and like numerals have been used to designate corresponding features.The particular arrangement allows the mirrors 673 and 674 shown in FIG.145 to be removed. When reading tags from the print media in thecassette, the images are captured from the print medium at the top ofthe stack which is next to be printed. Tags on each subsequent printmedium are read as it is exposed by the preceding print medium beingremoved from the cartridge for printing.

Netpage Camera Phone

Printing a photo as a Netpage and a camera incorporating a Netpageprinter are both claimed in WO 00/71353 (NPA035), Method and System forPrinting a Photograph and WO 01/02905 (NPP019), Digital Camera withInteractive Printer, the contents of which are incorporated herein byway of cross-reference. When a photo is captured and printed using aNetpage digital camera, the camera also stores the photo imagepersistently on a network server. The printed photo, which is Netpagetagged, can then be used as a token to retrieve the photo image.

A camera-enabled smartphone can be viewed as a camera with an in-builtwireless network connection. When the camera-enabled smartphoneincorporates a Netpage printer, as described above, it becomes a Netpagecamera.

When the camera-enabled smartphone also incorporates a Netpage pointeror pen, as described above, the pointer or pen can be used to designatea printed Netpage photo to request a printed copy of the photo. Thephone retrieves the original photo image from the network and prints acopy of it using its in-built Netpage printer. This is done by sendingat least the identity of the printed document to a Netpage server. Thisinformation alone may be enough to allow the photo to be retrieved fordisplay or printing. However, in the preferred embodiment, the identityis sent along with at least a position of the pen/clicker as determined

A mobile phone or smartphone Netpage camera can take the form of any ofthe embodiments described above that incorporate a printer and a mobilephone module including a camera.

Universal Pen

Further embodiments of the invention incorporate a stylus that has aninkjet printhead nib.

In a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 161 to 178, the mobile deviceincludes a retractable stylus 1000 that includes an elongate bodyportion 1002. The body portion 1002 incorporates a recess 1004 forholding a coil sprint 1006. A raised nub 1008 is formed on one side ofthe body portion 1002, and a raised stop 1010 is formed on another sideof the body portion 1002.

A nib cap 1152 is attached to one end of the body portion 1002 andincludes ink galleries which communicate the ink to a printhead 1120,which is bonded to the free end of the cap 1126. The printhead ispreferably an inkjet type printhead and more preferably amicroelectromechanical system (MEMS) based inkjet such as that describedin detail elsewhere in this specification. The preferred MEMS basedinkjets expel ink using mechanical actuators rather than by heating ofthe ink, as currently used by most inkjet printers currently available.As such MEMS based inkjets have a lower power consumption compared tosuch printers, which makes them attractive for use in portable deviceswhere available power is limited. Alternatively, a thermal inkjetprinter such as that also described elsewhere in this specification canbe used.

Whichever type of inkjet ejection technology is used, in the preferredform the ink ejection devices (ie, nozzles) are arranged into partialspirals 1370-1380, as best shown in FIGS. 183 and 184. This spiralarrangement produces more pleasing strokes than the linear arrangementdisclosed in cross-referenced patent U.S. Ser. No. 10/309,185 (DocketNo. UP08US), filed on Dec. 4, 2002, since it generates ink dots whichare more evenly spaced and which more fully cover the width of thestroke, no matter the orientation of the printhead with respect to thedirection of motion of the pen. The linear arrangement is prone toproduce strokes with visible striations when the direction of motion ofthe pen is substantially parallel to any of its radial lines of inkejection devices, whereas in the spiral arrangement there are alwayslines of ink ejection devices perpendicular to the direction of motionacross the full width of the device.

Striations due to uneven density can be further suppressed if thedirection of motion is known, since ink ejection devices located alongportions of the spirals which are substantially parallel to thedirection of motion can be prevented from ejecting ink. The spiralarrangement includes a greater number of ink ejection devices in thesame area as the linear arrangement, leading to better siliconutilization and greater stroke density, and includes, for two of theinks, additional ink ejection devices close to the axis of the printheadwhich allow still greater stroke density for selected inks, such asblack and cyan.

Although the preferred form of the invention uses these spirallyarranged rows of ink ejection devices, the stylus printhead 1120 will bedescribed with reference to a different embodiment shown in FIGS. 169 to178. These detailed drawings of the inner working and assembly of thestylus are based on a different embodiment of the invention designed towork with four colors (CMYK) rather than the three colors (CMY) used bythe preferred embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned earlier,the particular number of colors, or the arrangement of nozzles in theprinthead, are merely matters of design choice.

Referring to FIGS. 168 to 178, the printhead 1120 is bonded to the endcap 1126 but mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) 1144which includes control and power contacts 1146.

A stylus nib 1118 is mounted on the end cap 1126 so as to be capable ofa small amount of axial movement. Axial movement of the stylus nib 1118is controlled by integral arms 1148 which extend laterally and axiallyaway from the inner end of the stylus to bear against a land 1184 (seeFIG. 170). In use, pressing the stylus against a substrate causes thearms 1148 to bend and allows the stylus to retract. The stylus ispreferably formed by injection molding of a thermoplastic material, mostpreferably acetyl. This movement is typically a maximum of amount 0.5 mmand provides some feedback to the user. In addition the flexibility ofthe stylus nib accommodates a small amount of roughness in the substratesurface. If desired the stylus nib may be fixed with substantially nomovement allowed.

A nib cap 1152 extends over the end cap 1126, printhead 1120, PCB 1144and stylus nib 1118 and an aperture 1154 is provided through which thefree end 1156 of the stylus nib 1118 projects. The aperture 1154 is ovalin shape and allows the printhead 1120 to expel ink though the aperturebelow the stylus nib.

The nib cap 1152 is secured in place by one or more resilient snapaction arms 1158 integrally formed adjacent its edge.

Control circuitry for the inkjet actuators can be positioned in anysuitable combination of places within the device, such as within theprint engine controller and/or the printhead itself. The on/off switchis preferably controlled so that ink is only ejected when the stylus nibis pressed on a substrate. Pressing the stylus against a substrateresults in a compressive force in the stylus nib. In this embodimentthis results in movement of the stylus and the on/off switch may beactivated by the movement, by sensing the compressive force or by othermeans. Where the stylus is substantially fixed, movement of the stylusnib relative to the rest of the pen is not available.

The stylus is easiest to use in a particular orientation, but in usethis is not particularly critical and the stylus is configured so thatthe nib will not obstruct the path of ink from the printhead to thepaper at any orientation, as shown in FIG. 168.

FIG. 168 shows the stylus nib resting against paper at three differentorientations, indicated by numbers 1164, 1166 & 1168. The path of inkfrom the printhead is indicated by line 1170. Paper sheet 1164represents an orientation with the stylus nib above the printhead whilstpaper sheet 1166 represents an orientation with the stylus nib below theprinthead. Paper sheet 1168 represents an orientation with the stylusnib to the side of the printhead. As seen, the stylus nib does notobstruct the path of the ink to the paper at any orientation.

It will be appreciated that the print engine controller and/or othercircuitry associated with the stylus can be designed to adjust one ormore characteristics of the ink deposited by the printhead 1120. Thismay be the amount of ink deposited, the width of the line produced, thecolor of the ink deposited (in a color cartridge) or any otherattribute. Further information about this control is described incross-referenced U.S. Ser. No. 10/309,185 (Docket No UP08US).

The printhead 1120 is mounted on PCB 1144 and is received in a recess1176 in end cap 1126. Both the printhead and the recess are non-circularto aid in correct orientation.

The stylus nib 1118 is mounted in a slot 1184 of nib cap 1152 and heldin place by surface 1190 of the end cap 1126. The cantilevered arms 1148bear against land 1185 and bias the stylus nib outwards. The frontportion 1186 of the stylus nib is circular in cross section but the backportion 1188 has a flat surface 1191 which slides over surface 1190 ofend cap 1126.

The stylus nib includes a slot 1181 which extends obliquely along theflat surface 1191. In this embodiment of the invention, the printhead1120 includes a rotary capper 1183. The capper is movable between firstand second operative positions. In the first position the ink ejectionnozzles of the printhead are covered and preferably sealed to preventdrying of the ink in the printhead and ingress of foreign material orboth. In the second position the ink ejection nozzles of the printheadare not covered and the printhead may operate. The capper 1183 includesan arm 1185 which engages the slot 1181. Thus as the stylus nib moves inand out relative to the printhead the capper 1183 is caused to rotate.When the stylus nib is under no load and is fully extended the capper isin the first position and when the stylus nib is depressed the capper isin the second position. The capper 1183 may incorporate an on/off switchfor the printhead 1120, so the printhead can only operate where thecapper is in the second operative position. The slot may have an obliqueportion to open and close the capper and then a portion extendingaxially where no movement of the capper occurs with stylus nib movement.

The construction and arrangement of the printhead 1120 and capper 1183are shown in FIGS. 170 to 178 inclusive. The printhead 1120 is anassembly of four layers 1302, 1304, 1306 and 1308 of a semiconductormaterial. Layer 1306 is a layer of electrically active semiconductorelements, including MEMS ink ejection devices 1310. Layer 1306 has beenconstructed using standard semiconductor fabrication techniques. Layers1302 and 1304 are electrically inactive in the printhead and providepassageways to supply the ink to the ink ejection devices 1310 from theink inlets 1182. The layer 1308 is also electrically inactive and formsa guard with apertures 1320 above each ink ejection device 1310 to allowink to be ejected from the printhead. The layers 1302, 1304 and 1308need not be the same material as the layer 1306 or even a semiconductorbut by using the same material one avoids problems with materialinterfaces. Further, by using semiconductor material for all componentsthe entire assembly may be manufactured using semiconductor fabricationtechniques.

The printhead 1120 has three ink inlets 1182 and the ink ejectiondevices 1310 are arranged into twelve sets, each of which extendsroughly radially outwards from the center 1300 of the printhead. Everyfourth radial line of ink ejection devices 1310 is connected to the sameink inlet. Ink ejection devices connected to the same ink inletconstitute a set of ink ejection devices. The ink ejection devices 1310are arranged on alternate sides of a radial line, which results incloser radial spacing of their centers. The twelve “lines” of inkejection devices 1310 are arranged symmetrically about the center 1300of the printhead, at a spacing of 30°. It will be appreciated that thenumber of “lines” of ink ejection devices 1310 may be more or less thantwelve. Similarly there may be more or less than four ink inlets 1182.Preferably there are an equal number of lines for each ink inlet 1182.If a single ink is used the ink inlets need not feed equal numbers of“lines” of ink ejection devices. Also, different colors may havedifferent numbers of nozzles. For example, black ink (where used) mayhave more nozzles than the other colors.

The layer 1306 includes a tab 1311 on which there are provided a numberof sets of electrical control contacts 1312. For clarity only fourcontacts are shown; it will be appreciated that there may be more,depending on the number of different color inks used and the degree ofcontrol desired over each individual ink ejection device 1310 and otherrequirements. The printhead is mounted on the PCB 1144 by bonding thetab onto the PCB 1144. The electrical contacts 1312 engage correspondingcontacts (not shown) on the PCB 1144. The layer 1306 includes controlcircuitry for each ink ejection device to control the device when turnedon. However, generally, all higher level control, such as what colorinks to print and in what relative quantities, is carried out externallyof the printhead, and preferably in the MoPEC integrated circuit. Thesehigher level controls are passed to the printhead 1120 via contacts1312. There is preferably at least one set of contacts 1312 for each setof ink ejection devices. However each line or each individual inkejection device may be addressable. At its simplest, each set may bemerely turned on or off by the control signals.

As seen in FIG. 177, in plan view the printhead 1120 has a substantiallyoctagonal profile with tabs 1314 and 1316 extending from opposite facesof the octagon. It will be noted that tab 1314 is formed of layers 1302,1304 and 1306 only, whilst tab 1316 is formed of all four layers 1302,1304, 1306 and 1308. This enables the PCB 1144 to be bonded to the layer1306 without extending above the top of layer 1308. The octagonal shapewith tabs also aids in locating the printhead in the recess 1176 in theend cap 1126.

The capper 1183 is also preferably formed of the same semiconductormaterial as the print head and is mounted on the printhead for rotationabout the printhead's center 1300. As with the non-electrically activelayers, the capper need not be the same material as the print head oreven be a semiconductor. The capper may be rotated between an openposition (see FIG. 177) and a closed position (see FIG. 178). The openposition is shown, with the closed position shown in dotted outline inFIGS. 173 and 176. The capper 1183 has twelve radially extendingapertures 1318. These apertures are sized and arranged so that in theopen position all of the ink ejection devices are free to eject inkthrough the apertures. In the closed position the apertures 1318 overliematerial between the lines of ink ejection devices, and the material ofthe capper between the apertures 1318 overlies the apertures 1320 in theupper layer 1308. Thus ink cannot escape from the printhead and foreignmaterial cannot enter into the apertures 1320 and the ink ejectiondevices to possibly cause a blockage.

The apertures 1318 are preferably formed in the capper 1183 usingstandard semiconductor etching methods. In the embodiment shown, eachaperture is equivalent to a series of overlapping cylindrical bores, thediameter of which is a function of radial distance from the capper'scenter 1300. Alternatively, the apertures may be defined by two radiallyextending lines at a small angle to each other. It will be appreciatedthat the outside of the capper moves more than the inside when rotatedso the apertures need to increase in width as the radial distanceincreases.

The capper is substantially planar with eight legs 1322 extendingdownwards from the periphery of the lower surface 1326. These legs arespaced equally about the circumference and engage in corresponding slots1328 formed in the peripheral edge of the upper surface 1329 of theupper layer 1308. The slots are rectangular with rounded inner corners.The inner surface 1330 of the slots 1328 and the inner surface of thelegs may be arcuate and centered on the printhead's center 1300 to aidin ensuring the capper rotates about the central axis 1300. However thisis not essential. In the embodiment shown, each face of the octagon hasa slot 1328 but this is not essential and, for instance, only alternatefaces may have a slot therein. The symmetry of the legs 1322 and slots1328 is also not essential.

Rotation of the capper is caused by engaging arm 1185 in the angled slot1181 in the stylus nib. Rotation of the capper is ultimately limited bythe legs 1322 and slots 1328. To prevent damage to the capper, printheador the stylus nib, the arm 1185 has a narrowed portion 1334. In theevent that the stylus nib is pushed in too far, the arm 1185 flexesabout the narrowed portion 1334. In addition, guard arms 1336 areprovided on either side of the arm 1185 and also serve to limitrotation. The recess 1176 into which the printhead is inserted has anopening in which the guard arms are located. If for some reason thecapper is rotated too much, the guard arms contact the side of theopening and limit rotation before the legs 1322 contact the ends of theslots 1328.

It is desirable that the print head only actuate when the stylus nib ispressed against a substrate. The stylus nib may cause a simple on-offswitch to close as it moves into the pen. Alternatively, a force sensormay measure the amount of force applied to the stylus nib. In thisregard the cantilevered arms 1148 may be used directly as electricalforce sensors. Alternatively, a discrete force sensor may be acted uponby the inner end of the stylus nib. Where a force sensor is utilized, itmay be used merely to turn the printhead on or off or to(electronically) control the rate of ink ejection with a higher forceresulting in a higher ejection rate, for instance. The force sensed maybe used by a controller to control other attributes, such as the linewidth. Rotation of the capper may also cause an on/off switch to changestate.

The printhead has the different color ink ejection devices arrangedradially and this presents problems in supplying ink to the ejectiondevices where the different color ink ejection devices are interleaved.In conventional printers the ink ejection devices are arranged inparallel rows and so all the different inks may be supplied to each rowfrom either or both ends of the row. In a radial arrangement this is notpossible.

The rear surface of the bottom layer 1302 is provided with four inkinlets 1182. These inlets are oval shaped on the rear surface forapproximately half the thickness of the layer 1302 and then continue asa circular aperture 1340 through to the upper surface. The rear surfaceof the layer 1302 also has four grooves 1342, 1344, 1346 and 1348located in the central region. There are a number of holes that extendfrom the grooves through the layer 1302 (see FIGS. 175 and 176). Thelower surface of the lower layer 1302 seals against the end cap 1126 sothese grooves define sealed passageways.

Ink holes 1356, 1358, 1360, 1364 and 1366 supply ink to ink distributiongrooves 1350, 1352, 1362, and 1368, which in turn distribute the inks totheir respective rows 1370-1380 of ink ejection devices.

FIG. 184 shows a further alternative arrangement of ink ejection devices1370-1381 to that shown in FIG. 183. It consists of the same arrangementas that shown in FIG. 183, but with a 0.5 mm radius compared with the0.8 mm radius of the arrangement of FIG. 183. It represents a moreeconomical design when wider strokes are not required. Note, however,that if the direction of motion is known, then the arrangement of FIG.183 can produce a more pleasing stroke than the arrangement of FIG. 184even for stroke widths less than 0.5 mm, since ink ejection deviceswhich are nominally further from the printhead axis than the strokeradius but which are still within the stroke boundary can be used tocontribute to the stroke.

At the other end of the body portion 1002, a flexible data, power andink conduit 1012 enters the stylus 1000. As best shown in FIG. 167, theconduit 1012 is based on a piece of flex film 1014 which includes coppertraces 1016 on one side and formed film 1018 on the other. The coppertraces 1016 include data and power supply traces. The formed film 1018forms three ink channels 1020. The conduit 1012 is folded back on itselfin serpentine fashion to enable extension and retraction of the bodyportion 1002 as described below.

The end of the conduit 1012 remote from the body portion is connected tothe cartridge 148 such that ink, data and power are supplied to theprinthead in the stylus.

The stylus 1000 is mounted for telescopic sliding movement within aholder 1022. The holder 1022 is an extension of the cradle 124, andincludes an elongate hole 1024 through which the nub 1008 extends and arecess 1026 within which the stop 1010 is positioned. Both the hole 1024and the recess 1026 extend along the holder 1022 so that the nub andstop respectively can slide within them as the stylus 1000 is extendedand retracted.

A stylus retaining mechanism 1028 is attached to a snap-fit retainer1030 formed on a side of the holder 1022. A complementary snap-inportion 1032 is generally circular in cross-section and snaps into theretainer 1030 during assembly. The retainer 1030 and snap-in portion1032 are configured such that the stylus retaining mechanism 1028 isrotatable between an open position and a closed position, which aredescribed in more detail below. A first end of the stylus retainingmechanism 1028 includes a stop-engaging portion 1034, whilst the otherend includes a stylus release button 1036 and moulded bias spring 1038that biases the stylus retaining mechanism, into the closed position.

As best shown in FIG. 161, tension in the coil spring 1006 holds thestylus 1000 in a retracted position within the device. In this position,the tip of the stylus is protected from snags and bumps it mightotherwise encounter when not in use. The stop 1010 is within a recess inthe stop-engaging portion 1034, which enables that end of the retainingmechanism 1028 to sit relatively flush with the exterior of the device.

When the stylus is to be extended, a user places a finger or thumb ontothe nub 1008 and telescopically slides the stylus 1000 against thetension of the coil spring 1006 towards the extended position shown inFIG. 163. As the stylus 1000 moves towards the extended position, thestop 1010 engages a ramped surface (not shown) within the stop-engagingportion 1034, which urges the stop-engaging portion 1034 to pivot awayfrom the body portion 1002 against the bias of the bias spring 1038, asshown in FIG. 162.

Eventually, the edge of the stop-engaging portion 1034 clears the stop1010, thereby allowing the stop-engaging portion 1034 to snap backagainst the body portion 1002. The user can then release the nub 1008,allowing the stylus 1000 to move in the retraction direction under thetension of the coil spring 1006 until the stop 1010 engages thestop-engaging portion 1034. The stylus is then retained in the extendedposition, as shown in FIG. 163 while the user uses the stylus to writeor draw.

To retract the stylus 100, the user depresses the stylus release button1036, which causes the retaining mechanism 1028 to pivot about thesnap-in portion 1032. This cases the stop-engaging portion 1034 to liftclear of the stop 1010. The stylus 1000 is then free to retract underthe coil spring's 1006 tension until it is back in the original positionshown in FIG. 161.

The conduit 1012 provides a compact way of supplying ink, data and powerto the stylus, whilst still enabling a functioning retraction mechanism.

In a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 179 to 181, in which likereference numerals indicate features corresponding with those from theprevious embodiment, the stylus 1000 is mounted onto the cartridge 148.Unlike the previous embodiment, the stylus in FIGS. 179 to 181 does notfeature a retraction mechanism. Instead, the stylus is mounted directlyto the cartridge 148, which supplies it with ink and data.

As best shown in FIG. 181, the cartridge includes three side ducts 1040,1041, 1042 that are in fluid communication with the ink reservoirs ofthe cartridge via channels 1043, 1044, 1045. Each side duct includes abore 1046 which is filled by a plug 1048 of wicking compound that helpsdraw ink from the cartridge as required. A duct cover 1050 covers theside ducts to provide sealed pathways through which ink can flow fromthe cartridge towards the printhead chip.

The ink is distributed to the printhead chip in a similar manner to thatdescribed in relation to the previous embodiment, notwithstanding thefact that it is provided directly from the cartridge rather than along aconduit.

Power and data are provided to the printhead chip from the MoPECintegrated circuit via flexible PCB 1052.

In either embodiment, an optional modular Netpage device incorporatingan infrared LED 1054, associated optics 1056 and CCD (not shown) can beincluded, as shown in FIG. 182. This Netpage device functions similarlyto those described elsewhere in this specification, but has theadvantage of being integrated with the cradle. This means that theentire assembly (cradle, stylus, Netpage device) can be provided to amanufacturer for insertion into a mobile device without the need formultiple additional assembly steps.

M-Print Applications

Printing cards from a mobile device using the M-Print system has a vastarray of applications in many different fields. In the interests ofbrevity, this specification does not describe any of the applications indetail. However, to provide some overall context for the M-Print system,several of its areas of application are listed below. Of course, this isnot an exhaustive list but merely illustrative of its diversity.

The target application may be remote to the phone. For example, ane-commerce application, as claimed in WO 00/72242 (NPA002), Method andSystem for Online Purchasing, can allow the user to add items to ashopping cart by designating entries in a printed catalogue oradvertising using the preferred embodiment of the mobile phone. It canalso print a receipt via the printer in the phone and allow the user toauthorise the transaction by signing the receipt with a Netpage pen inthe phone (or with a separate pen that can communicate with the mobilephone via, for example, Bluetooth™ wireless transmitters and receivers.

When the phone is aware of its own location, either via an in-built GPSreceiver or via a mobile network mechanism, it can report its locationto selected applications to allow those applications to provide alocation-specific service. For example, when the user designates aprinted advertising promotion, such as a movie discount offer printed ona product label, the phone can print a voucher which is valid at anearby movie theatre. The word “voucher” is used very broadly, and caninclude any kind of commercial document. “Voucher” therefore includesprinted media bearing advertising without any specific form ofinducement, a discount coupon, a special offer coupon and so on.

For example, a user visiting a town they are not familiar with maydecide that he wishes to visit an Italian restaurant. He consults hismobile device and brings up a web-page that enables him to search forrestaurants by proximity to his location, price, cuisine and reviews.The web-page can be hosted remotely and browsed using a local browserapplication, or a local application can be run that searches a remotedatabase of relevant information and presents it to the user. A localItalian restaurant running a promotion is selected, and a voucher for10% off the meal bill is printed with the mobile device's inbuiltprinter. Alternatively (or in addition) a map can be printed showing theaddress of the restaurant and directions from the user's presentlocation.

The target application may also be local to the phone. For example, adialing application, as claimed in WO 01/41413 (NPA060), Method andSystem for Telephone Control, can allow the user to dial numbers bydesignating entries in a printed address book or phone book. The Netpageclicker or sensor is used by a user to select a phone number or emailaddress on a printed document (which can itself be a printed cardproduced by the phone or another user's phone). In the case of a phonenumber being selected, the mobile phone can either bring the number upon the display ready for confirmation that it is to be called, or cansimply skip the confirmation step and ring the number directly.Alternatively, the user can be offered a choice of which type ofcommunication to perform based on the number. For example, a choice maybe given to send the user a short text message via SMS, to call theuser, or to send a voicemail. Similarly, if an email address isdesignated using the mobile phone, then an email to that address can beopened, ready for the user to input text or add attachments. If theNetpage pen has been used to write text on a suitable surface (a Netpagenotepad or sticky-note, for example), the last written text can beinserted automatically in the email to be sent to the selected emailaddress.

A business card application, as claimed in WO 01/22358 (NPA024),Business Card as Electronic Mail Token and WO 01/22357 (NPA025),Business Card as Electronic Mail Authorization Token, can allow the userto print Netpage business cards for presentation to others and to scanNetpage business cards presented to others, with automatic insertion ofcontact details into the user's local or network-based address book. Thebusiness card application can be local or remote. If purely local, thena presented business card may be used simply as a single-useauthorisation token for retrieving contact details directly from thepresenter's phone, e.g. via a direct Bluetooth™ (or infrared)connection.

In related applications, schedule information stored in the phone or PDAmemory, or on a remote server, can be printed onto a card. The user canchoose from options such as, for example, a “Things To Do Today” list, asummary of all work related appointments in the next week, or a list ofoverdue tasks. All forms of tasks, reminders, calendar and relatedfunctions can be printed to a card. Moreover, the phone or PDA can beconfigured to print an input template for a day, week or month to enableschedule information to be input to the device using the built-inNetpage pointer in the device (or using a separate Netpage pen incommunication with the device via, for example, Bluetooth™).

In all cases, data that is being printed by the printer in the devicecan either be stored locally on the device itself, or downloaded from aremote server. Moreover, where a Netpage pointer or pen is incorporatedinto the device (or is separately able to communicate via the device),cards printed by the device can be interacted with the Netpage pen orpointer.

Connection History

The mobile device with printer can be used to print out connectionhistory associated with the device. Connection history includes anyvoice- or data-related information associated with the sending orreceipt of voice, data, text, images or audio, and with theestablishment of a connection associated with the communication of dataany of these types.

For example, a user can cause the mobile device to print out a list ofthe 10 most voice calls initiated by the device. Alternatively, the usercan print the last calls received by the device, or all missed calls inthe last 24 hours.

Where Netpage clicker or pen capability is provided in the mobile device(whether through a built-in clicker/pen or an external Netpage enableddevice communicating with the device via a wired or wireless link), theprinted connection history information can be interacted with in auseful way. For example, electing a listed missed call causes the phonenumber associated with the contact to be dialed, or at least brought upon the mobile device's display to enable the user to save the number ordial it. Alternatively, selecting a message from a printed “Sentmessages” list causes the selected message to be displayed on thedevice's display, or even printed by the device for further review.

Netpage Tag Pattern Printing

The preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying figures operate onthe basis that the cards may be pre-printed with a Netpage tag pattern.Pre-printing the tag pattern means that the printhead does not neednozzles or a reservoir for the IR ink. This simplifies the design andreduces the overall form factor. However, the M-Print system encompassesmobile telecommunication devices that print the Netpage tag patternsimultaneously with the visible images. This requires the printhead ICto have additional rows of nozzles for ejecting the IR ink. A great manyof the Assignee's patents and co-pending applications have a detaileddisclosure of full color printheads with IR ink nozzles (see for exampleSer. No. 11/014,769 (Docket No. RRC001US), filed on Dec. 20, 2004).

To generate the bit-map image that forms the Netpage tag pattern for acard, there are many options for the mobile device to access therequired tag data. In one option, the coding for individuallyidentifying each of the tags in the pattern is downloaded from a remoteserver on-demand with each print job. As a variation of this, the remoteNetpage server can provide the mobile telecommunication device with theminimum amount of data it needs to generate the codes for a tag patternprior to each print job. This variant reduces the data transmittedbetween the mobile device and the server, thereby reducing delay beforea print job.

In yet another alternative, each print cartridge includes a memory thatcontains enough page identifiers for its card printing capacity. Thisavoids any communication with the server prior to printing although themobile will need to inform the server of any page identifiers that havebeen used. This can be done before, during or after printing. The devicecan inform the Netpage server of the graphic and/or interactive contentthat has been printed onto the media, thereby enabling subsequentreproduction of, and/or interaction with, the contents of the media.

There are other options such as periodic downloads of page identifiers,and the M-print system can be easily modified to print the Netpage tagswith the visual bitmap image. However, pre-coding the cards is aconvenient method of authenticating the media and avoids the need for anIR ink reservoir, enabling a more compact design.

CONCLUSION

The present invention has been described with reference to a number ofspecific embodiments. It will be understood that where the invention isclaimed as a method, the invention can also be defined by way ofapparatus or system claims, and vice versa. The assignee reserves theright to file further applications claiming these additional aspects ofthe invention.

Furthermore, various combinations of features not yet claimed are alsoaspects of the invention that the assignee reserves the right to makethe subject of future divisional and continuation applications asappropriate.

1. A method performed in a telecommunication device, the methodcomprising the steps of: printing document information onto a pluralityof print areas with a printer of the telecommunication device, each ofthe print areas being encoded with identity data which differentiateseach of the print areas from each other; sensing the identity data witha sensor incorporated in a media feed path of the printer; andtransmitting the identity data and the document information to acomputer system with a transmitter of the telecommunication device wherethe document information printed on respective print areas is associatedwith the identity data of the respective print areas.
 2. A methodaccording to claim 1 further comprising the step of decoding the codeddata to produce decoded data representing at least the identity data. 3.A method according to claim 2 wherein the identity data is encoded onthe print area by at least two discrete items of coded data and said atleast two separate discrete items of coded data are decoded to producethe decoded data representing at least the identity data.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the sensor senses the identity data afterprinting of the document information on the respective print area areashas commenced.
 5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the sensorsenses the identity data before printing of the document information onthe respective print area areas commences.
 6. A method according toclaim 1 wherein the sensor senses the identity data during printing ofthe document information on the respective print area areas.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: detecting failureto correctly print onto one of the print areas; and informing thecomputer system of the failure.
 8. A method according to claim 1 furthercomprising the step of receiving document data from the computer system,wherein the document information is based at least partially on thedocument data.